Chapter 2: December 5, 2005 - Ten Years Gone - Yakuza Kiwami

I've been thinking of making a list just for myself but figured why not share it with this community and start a discussion. It could be beneficial for others who are looking for recommendations or just for you to get your thoughts out about a game. Below I ranked my personal 10 with a bit of description as to why I like them.

Half Life 2 - This game hasn't left my #1 spot since it came out. It was the first single player FPS game I played. I haven't played Half Life 1 before Half Life 2 so I didn't really know that standing Valve had in the FPS community. But man, the gravity gun changed my life. The physics engine blew my mind. I was so happy that Half Life 2 included puzzles based on physics as well. I think its incredible that a game whose protagonist is a physicist compared to a soldier did so well. I remember when the demo came out I played the Ravenholm level probably 20 times. Then when I was able to buy Half Life 2 I played it another 20 times. I love the setting of Half Life 2, and the oppressive nature of the Combine. The strider fights were a spectacle and meeting DOG was amazing. I personally believe this game is perfect, between gunplay, story, setting, music. I almost cried at the end of Half Life Alyx and am so happy that Valve is continuing the universe. I believe that Half Life 2 still stands the test of time nowadays. It goes on sale often so please try it out! My ranking of the Half Life games are 2 > Alyx > Episode 2 > Episode 1 > Black Mesa > Half Life.
Persona 4 Golden - Atlus shows a masterclass of JRPGs with the Persona series. I haven't played Persona 1 or 2 and my first intro to the series was Golden on the Vita. I remember I played it and finished it in one weekend during college. I didn't even leave my room and stayed up all night getting it done. The characters in Golden from Chie to Kanji are a joy to be around and building relationships with. The soundtrack of the Persona series ties so well with the atmosphere of each game. Persona 4 Golden was also the first JRPG I played and finished. Boy it was a joy. The combat got improved upon greatly in Persona 5 but having the introduction to the series through Golden puts it over the top for me. Soon after beating Persona 4 Golden, I played Persona 3 Portable which was a great game too! Persona 5 deserves all the accolades its getting but I believe that the groundwork for the Western audience was laid by Persona 4 Golden on the Vita.
Judgement - As with many others, my first taste into the Yakuza franchise was when Yakuza 0 came on Steam. Since then I have finished 0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, Judgement, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 in that order. While the other entries in this series are amazing, it was nice to see Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios venture out from the Yakuza storyline and focus on a detective story. The combat was a lot more fluid, almost reminding me of Majima's moveset in Yakuza 0. There was also a slice of life feel to Judgement. I think my favorite thing about the game was the pay off for completing side stories and relationships with people in the city. The last substory was amazing to see. I put this on the list even though I love the other games in the series so here is my ranking for the series. Judgement > Kiwami 2 > Yakuza 6 > Yakuza 0 > Yakuza 4 > Yakuza 7 > Kiwami > Yakuza 5 > Yakuza 3.
Hotline Miami 2 - The Hotline Miami collection introduced me to Retrowave music, and I will forever be grateful for that. Hotline Miami plays as a top down shooter with a very David Lynch like story. The chapters jump from the Past to Future to Present in different ways focusing on different characters. It is all tied up nicely at the end of Hotline Miami 2 in my opinion. This game is as bloody as a pixel game can be. The sense of fear you get when you try to see if anyone heard your gunshot is insane. I put Hotline Miami 2 here instead of 1 because of the larger cast of characters and for the ending. While I did love Hotline Miami 1, 2 for me was just a bit better. This game is eye candy from the floor plans of each level, the retro Miami colors, and the gory way of killing enemies. Hotline Miami 1 started my appreciation for indie games as being powerhouses.
Inside - I once heard someone on the Gameinformer podcast refer to this game as being carved out of one single block of clay. This game runs so smoothly you forget that there is a bunch of code in the background. Playdead is on a roll after Limbo and Inside in the creepy side scrolling puzzle platformer game. Inside had one of the most interesting backdrops I have seen. You are a child breaking into a facility of seemingly unknown reasons. But the game doesn't tell you that, there is no narration or voicework in this game. But its a testament to how carefully crafted this game is that the story can be told by what is happening in the background as you are making your way from left to right. The ending of this game caught me by surprise but I absolutely adored this game from start to finish.
Wolfenstein: The New Colossus - Who doesn't love killing Nazis? Ever since Machinegames took over the franchise of Wolfenstein each entry has just gotten better and better. I've heard different qualms about TNC mainly about the story, but to be honest that was my favorite part of this game. It made BJ into a deeper character rather than a meathead and his Jewish ancestry being a background for fighting Nazi's was poetic. My favorite moment was, in the courtroom dream sequence, right after you get out and meet the memory of your mom. It honestly brought me to tears. The gunplay was as good as it gets as well as the characters on your ship. My one issue was the hacking minigame. I did love the sound effects used but felt overall it was a useless addition. Although I did complete all of it! If I had to rank all the Machinegames Wolfensteins it would go TNC > New Order > Old Blood > Youngblood.
Mass Effect 2 - This game has about 200 hours of play time on my Steam. Bioware were masters of incredible RPG experiences. Mass Effect 2's companions were some of the best party members in an RPG ever. The storylines for each of these characters were a joy to take part in and it was extremely daring for Bioware to say, Hey! Lets put a suicide mission for the ending and have some of your characters permanently die. While the main villain wasn't that good, the overarching villain with culminated into the grand finale of Mass Effect 3 was worth it. I can't say enough as to how fleshed out the crew on the Normandy was. I'm excited to see any quality of life changes in the legendary edition!
What Remains of Edith Finch - I was debating putting this on my top 10 but the more time passed, the more and more I was thinking about the experience playing this game. I didn't play Unfinished Swan so I didn't know much about the developer but I do love Annapurna Interactive's published games. Edith Finch was no different. A first person/adventure/walking simulator game with an engaging story about a very strange family, the game immediately dug its hooks in me and never let go. The house of the Finches felt like a maze but because of how well crafted this game is you never feel lost. The side story about the unfortunate ends of the family is engaging. Not enough can be said about the last family member's story you find and how incredible that experience was.
Pokemon White - I am a huge Pokemon fan having bought one of each of the main series. I am also one of those people who liked SwSh. But I believe that Pokemon was at its best during the Black and White era. Created a new 150 pokemon while not including any past ones was risky, but for me it paid off. It was fun not being shackled by past favorites and looking towards a new generation. While it did seem that they just replaced skins for Pokemon, i.e. Swoobat/Zubat, TimburMachoke, etc. I liked almost all the new designs. The story for this game was also great. N was a great antagonist and actually made me sympathize with what was supposed to be your foe in the game. Why would I fight against someone who views that Pokemon should be free from trainers?
Ori and the Will of the Wisps - I absolutely adored Blind Forest and when Will of the Wisps came out it was just more of Ori but with a bunch of quality of life improvements. The story was even more emotional than the first. Without spoilers I found the villain's story especially after the final fight to be incredibly touching. I love how Moon Studio works as well, being completely decentralized while producing beautiful games.

WELCOME TO MY LONG ASS REVIEW OF THE YAKUZA SEIRES! This will include a shortened version of all of my thoughts and feelings towards all 8 (*note: this review will only cover the main series, so no dead souls, ishin or other spinoff's (tho I might play them in the future)) games and some of their inner aspects. So not reading all of it is completely understandable I just wanted to share them with someone but sadly none of my friends played it so i have nowhere else to do so
one them suggested posting it here and tbh i have nothing better to do so here they are
TLDR; 10/10 franchise I really like the characters, stories, music and gameplay.with that being said, HERE WE GO!
(*note: like I said these are MY opinions and MY lists, if you think otherwise, youre welcome to write it down in the comments I would love to hear your thoughts :))(*note: this review might contain spoilers, with that being said I will try to hide everything that I think might be considered a major spoiler and will put it between [ ] so if you see these be careful)(*note: this review might be a bit scattered and not understandable at times, that's because of 3 reasons: 1.english is my second language, although I like to think im at least conversational, spelling and sentence building aren’t my strong suits. 2. Like I said this is a review of all 8 games so I might scramble stuff in the middle or forget something completely. 3. I first wrote this on word and after transfering it here i noticed there are problems with the spacing and enters, so if you see a lack of space when there should be most likely there was supposed to be a shift+enter, i tried fixing it multiple times but appreantly having every enter where it should be makes it over 4000000 characters long.) So forgive me for those)(*note: if for some reason you would like to see my opinion on something that I didn’t include, you're welcome to ask me to write it :) I might not be able to answer everything but ill do my best to check the comments every so often for a while)
first of all I would like to say that my entry to the series is that a friend of mine bought me a copy of yakuza 0 for pc, little did he know, that would evolve into a crippling yakuza addiction (I bought a ps4 off another friend just to play 3-6). (*note: I know I said "none of my friends play it" that was a tiny lie, I have 1 friend who for 2 years now "is in process" to 100% yakuza 0, so I have no one to talk to about 7/8 games of the series) I came into the series thinking what I believe almost every player thinks before they start playing "oh it looks similar to gta/saints row but Japanese" but, say it with me now! "YAKUZA IS NOT JAPANESE GTA!" what I discovered is a beat'em-up, tear-jerking-story based adventure game, lucky me these are some of my favorite genres! I feel like yakuza has a very sad story not because its actually like sad sad but because kiryu is human, you see him go through life having to go through all kinds of crisis's and problems and its kinda feels like seeing a child grow? Idk, at least for me it sometimes does
now for my top 8 yakuza games (*note: the scores I give them out of 10 and their place on the top 8 might seem weird and "incorrect" because I give some games of lower place higher score then stuff of higher place. That's because when I decide their place on the top 8 I only consider how much I enjoyed it overall. when I give them a score out of 10 I try to give them what I think is a more objective score that includes everything of how fun it was, how much I liked the characters, the mechanics, the story, ect….)
(*note: if I don’t include a character in my reviews that doesn’t necessarily mean that I hate them, it just means that I generally don’t have too much to say about them. Overall I like basically all the main and side cast)
1.Yakuza kiwami 9/10
Lets start with the story,
Imma be real with ya chiefs, I have a pretty small smooth brain. That's why I like simple-semi complicated stories
And here we have a very basic story to follow, 10000000 yen missing, parent of this child missing, find them both. I love that simple, short and to the point but still interesting enough that I spent half my playthrough on the edge of my sit
This game also has the best side-quests of the entire series which are easily pocket circuit & majima everywhere
from the gameplay and mechanic side I also feel it’s the most fun and tight, nothing feels slow, every punch packs a punch and I actually really love (and prefer) the 4 fighting styles and was really sad to find out they were only in 0&kiwami. It has my favorite level up system (I will also include my top 7 level up systems later)
And now for some character reviews
Kiryu-CHAN!- he's by far my favorite character in the entire series, until now I only saw him as a brooding, badass, powerhouse that fucking breaks, shoots, and destroys (god forbid kills nothing like that here) but this was the first time I got to see that he actually has a soft side too and it’s the cutest fucking thing I've ever seen in my entire life. It was the first time I realized yakuza is one of those series that can make me sound like a kettle when I "aawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" seeing his interactions with haruka, yumi, nishiki and others was almost heart melting. Speaking of which
Majima-I have what I think is a very controversial opinion, which is I don’t like majima in 0 (and I will get to that later). So I really didn’t expect much considering I came to this series blind. And OH BOY! Majima quickly became one of my favourite characters and its really sad for me that I believe they kinda toned him down in later games. [half of my playthrough was running around looking for him and doing all of his stuff, having to fight him as a cop, zombie, idol, hostes in all sorts of different situations was one of the best things about this game]
nishiki-*ahem*,Im gonna fucking cry.
Like I said I came from 0, seeing the journey he went through from #1 jobro (which he will forever be btw) to head of a family he has no idea what to do with, to madness, to evil mastermind was one of the saddest stories of this series. Every head of the nishikiyama family after him only brought shame to his name. [every scene that contained both him and kiryu in the same room made me want to cry. From the moment he declared they are not brothers anymore to the final scene when he shot the bomb]
Haruka-B A B Y
My first thought after seeing her was "ughhhhh fuck an annoying child character to take care of, that's not what a yakuza game should have" but what ended up being is that if anything happened to her I will ̶k̶i̶l̶l̶ hit everybody in this room very hard until all their bones break and leave them unconscious with no way of calling an ambulance or any kind of help and then do that to myself only to protect her.
She is precious, and if you for some twisted, evil, disgusting reason think otherwise you are wrong
[Yumi/mizuki- when Im writing this its been like a year since I played kiwami so I don’t remember every little detail about this character (not that there's too much to remember to begin with) if anything the twist at the end was pretty surprising and her backstory is kinda sad]
[rena/shinji-they both serve kind of the same role so I don’t have too much to say on them separately. Their death (by the hands of the most annoying boss in the series) is kinda sad and like anything else relating to nishiki in this game, rena's death speech about how she always really loved him and wanted to help him in any way possible made me want to cry]
2.yakuza4 7.8/10
This game could’ve easily been an 8.5/10 but there're some stuff that just annoy me a bit and makes me have to retract from its score, let me get into it
First of all,
Although at the start the story didn’t really make sense to me and I thought it was very confusing, now after I played everything and saw how stuff connected together, I realized how amazing it actually is
From akiyama's little relationship with lily
To kiryu helping a refugee
To a laid back cop who gets in to something bigger than himself
And finally back to the actual main character of this series
initially It was very annoying when I found out I only get to play as kiryu at the end of the game but I got over it
On the gameplay side
in the overworld everyone felt really slow to me,it didn’t feel like they were running (like their animation showed) it felt like they were always at the speed of a start of a jog but you kinda get used to it so its fine overall.In the combat side of thingsI really liked how akiyama, tanimura and kiryu controlled. Fast&strong which is why I really like the combat of this series to begin with (I also found it kinda funny that swords in this game are sometimes considered "blunt objects" for some reason so when you use a heat action with them you just smack an enemies head again and again with the blade)
I will use the fact I didn’t include saejima in the list of the gameplay I like as a perfecet Segway to my character reviews
Saejima-although his story really is interesting, kinda sad and heartwarming at times I grew to not like him just because his gameplay is sooooooooooooooooo slooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
I don’t know why but I also felt that he was weaker than the rest of the characters? It kinda felt like when the rest of the crew took down 10 enemies in 1 second he took 1 enemy in 10 seconds
I get that hes supposed to be a tank and he has a lot of hp but usually tanks also do lots of damage to make up for their lack of speed
Here its just a "very healthy", slow and weak tank so its just annoying to play [if anything his sister is hot]
Akiyama- his gameplay is kinda like the "brawler" of the game, similar enough to kiryu's gameplay but different (because kicks) also his personality is cool, i would categorize it kinda like a happy go lucky guy but not really
His story is interesting about this mysterious girl named lily who apparently really looks like his ex and he has a picture from his past that shows her. Anyway she asks for 100000000 yen a̶n̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶ and because he really wants to help her, he gives her a challenge.
Tanimura- the counter option was kinda cool ig. His character is cool enough and his story about wanting to find what happened to his father is kinda sweet
I don’t have too much to say about him because he's kinda forgettable in the sense that his story was kind of an open and shut case
He was definitely one of the playable characters of the series but that's honestly the most you can say about him
If anything its kinda sad they swapped him in yakuza 5 but understandable because his story is 100% finished and he has nothing to draw him back considering he isn’t really related in any way to the rest of the cast
Date-I like him but his character rarely changes. In the rest of the series it seems the story writers forgot he quit being a detective
[yasuko/lily-seeing her story unfold was kinda sad, all she wanted for the last 25 years was to see her brother again. At least she got to that 1 last time before she did the bullet walk thing this series lovesssss to do]
One last thing about this game that really annoyed me, the game ends with a happy ending, [saejima is proven innocent, kiryu seems to return to the tojo clan and they all live happily ever after]. When I saw it I thought "oh wow, I wander how they're gonna build upon this?" well, they didn’t, like at all.
This series has 1 annoying problem that the writers team usually completely forget how the previous game ended
3.yakuza3 7.4/10on the story side-
Kiryu only wants to keep his goddamn orphanage leave him alone ffs.BUT NOPE!It’s the yakuza series so every few years it’s always the same thing: something something TOJO something something MONEY something something BROTHER something something REVENGE, oh godly kiryu san mr.dragon of dojima please help me!
The gameplay in the remastered collection stays more or less the same throughout so I don’t really have anything to say here
The characters of this story are a weird bunch
The children of the orphanage- if anything happened to any of them I will ̶k̶i̶l̶l̶ hit everybody in this room very hard until all their bones break and leave them unconscious with no way of calling an ambulance or any kind of help and then do that to myself only to protect them.
rikiya- at the start of the game I thought he was just gonna be one of those bosses that you beat thrice throughout the game and never hear from them again afterwards, what ended up happening is that I discovered just a lovable, loyal, dork of a character [and when he got shot and kiryu started crying I was almost crying with him, definitely one of the saddest deaths in the series because it’s a very unexpected one]
4.yakuza 6 8/10
HOLY SHIT MY BABY HAD A BABY but who is the father? Let's go to Hiroshima to find out! [If only yuta put on a condom]
Jokes aside this is one of the most amazing stories the series ever told
I was originally dreading playing this game because I don’t really like the dragon engine that much (that might be because I played kiwami 2 right after 0&kiwami and was just kind of overwhelmed by it although the graphics of it are amazing, the gameplay feels a lot more wonky to me, I either feel very weak or too strong (usually weak) I got used to it but I actually prefer anything else in the series)
But man did the story really bump up its place in the top 8
Nagumo- im sorry but speaking by role-serving terms rikiya is just kinda the cooler Nagumo (or technically speaking Nagumo is the worse rikiya) he's just a hot headed simp who's the captain of the hirose family but also kind of sweet in a way
If anything he has one very memorable line "yesterday's enemy is today's aniki"
Yuta-[BOI LOOKS LIKE LIVE ACTION KOICHI FROM THE DIAMOND IS UNBREAKABLE MOVIE AND MY BABY STELLED FOR HIM?!
jokes aside I see why haruka chose him, one of the best character's in the series for sure
tho the twist where he's actually the father was kind of apparent from the start]
Kiyomi- she looks like sayama's mom. Like I was 200% sure it was her for like the entirety of the first chapter she was shown in
[Also the thing in the end about kiryu saying he considered daigo as a son is stupid and forced in as hell]
5.yakuza0 7/10
(*note: I think I got a little more to say about this game then the rest cause like I mentioned it was my entry to the series so this may be a little bit of a garbled mess)
So let's start by saying, hands down it has the best overall soundtrack (*note: I will get to my top 15 songs later) consistently very high quality while the rest of the games have like 1-3 outstanding songs in them this one has: the intro, judgement, the best version of baka mitai (*note: I only discovered that the meme originated in yakuza like half-way through its life span) (*note: I saw on here some time ago that one of the top posts is a screenshot of a tweet from kiryu's VA that says he's very pleased that people are singing his song and I find that very heart warming and wholesome), 24-cinderella and so, SO many more.
Now… from the story side of things…..
Im sorry to say this but I don’t really like majima's story in this game. Out of every other playable character in this series majima's story in this game felt the most like a filler to me. The first like 4 of his chapters could've easily been skipped with nothing of value to the overall story lost. Having to switch to him every 2 chapters was very annoying. Actually It annoyed me so much that in the middle of zero I kinda just dropped the game for like half a year+ because I just didn’t feel like playing as majima [it was after the cutscene where nishiki betrays kiryu but doesn’t want to shoot him]. Tho his relation-ship with makato is easily the saddest, most tragic thing to happen throughout the entire series. But like… idk I really preferred playing as kiryu 100% of the time
On the gameplay side of things tho
Definitely one of the better, like I said I really like the fighting styles so having 8 of them (well 6 technically since I basically didn’t touch the real estate nor the cabaret) was really fun
Brawlethug-very basic, close enough to the dragon fighting style if that's what youre looking for but very boring nonetheless
Rush/breaker-rush fucking sucks, on the other hand I find breaker to be very funny and I used it most of my time playing majima
beast/slugger-beast is easily the best fighting style in the game, it’s a tiny bit slow but it gives back by being a fucking powerhouse being able to lift giant object's and using them as very fast hard hitting weapons (*ahem* *ahem* thisiswhatsaejimashould'vebeen*ahem* ahem*) on the slugger side I only switched to it when I saw that I couldn’t just style on my enemy to win and had to actually "play the video game"
now for the character's
makoto- I A M G O I N G T O F U C K I N G C R Y
nishiki- [ kiwami spoilers>>R.I.P best jobro, once again im going to fucking cry everything in this game makes me want to cry], his relationship with kiryu is easily one of the best parts of this game, from the little comments he makes about kiryu's wardrobe to [him saying he's not interested in climbing up the ranks without kiryu] everything that makes him easily the best follower in the entire series.
majima- I didn’t know what was coming so I just assumed this was kind of his character.looking back at it im kinda disappointed they didn’t try to do something else with him and instead they just kinda made him a simp to the yakuza [also it was kinda stupid to me how they didn’t find a way to bridge him into the crackhead he is in the rest of the series (they totally could've btw) instead making him just choose to "live crazier than any of 'em" (but thinking about it again honestly I feel like making majima choose to be a crackhead just because he wants to kinda fits his character)]
kuze- *insert how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man meme*
6.yakuza LAD 8/10"YOU BITCHES EVER HEARD OF PERSONA 5?"was probably the first line shouted by the director of the series in the first boardroom meetingthe story of this game follows ichiban kasuga trying to prove his loyalty and powerand goddamn smashing those goalsits kinda weird because I feel like I have nothing yet so much to say
Gameplay wisefor some reason they decided to change it to an rpg probably after the director played P5R for too long because like I indirectly said… almost everything here is persona 5,the ui, combat, life skills and so on and so forth. There are even social links for crying out loud.
this game might've been a 9/10 if only there wasnt 2 giant grind moments in the latter half of it
[specifically before the majima&saejima boss fight and kiryu boss fight]
Character review
Ichiban- I saw a meme somewhere that said ichiban is "cooler nishiki", HELL NAHthose 2 are completely different characters each with their own reasons to make me depressed. Defiantly in the top 3 protagonists of the series which goes like 1.kiryu 2.majima 3.ichiban [before i started the game i was 200% sure he was gonna die, luckly he didnt, yet]
Adachi- before I started this game and only saw the art I was 100% sure it was the guy who taught slugger to majima in 0 (the weapon maker from the noodle shop).he's not.Good follower tho
[Joon-gi han- imma be real with ya chief, I forgot he died. And until kiryu said it was a double I was sure it was the same dude, he's not, still cool tho]
[kume-LITTLE SHIT SHANKED MASATO AND DIPPED WHY DONT I GET TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM AGAIN!?]
I feel like I should have more to say about the rest of the MC's, but I got nothing. I love all of them but I don’t have anything outstanding to say.
also this game has the top 3 best girls of the series which are: 1.seong-hui 2.sumire sawa 3.saeko mukoda don’t @ me
7.yakuza5 thekomakitigerdropisbrokenasallhell/10
Once again with 4 different character's, each with their own story that finally combines into one somehow
on the gameplay side
Like I said kiryu has the best moves in this game then the entire series
The counter allowed me to cheese out enemies I couldn’t really fight. And the komaki tiger drop allowed me to delete half a bosses health bar in one hit So usually a boss would last about 2-6 tiger drops
His story revolves around just being A NORMAL GODDAMN TAXI DRIVER LEAVE HIM ALONE FOR FUCK SAKES and going through a midlife crisis
Akiyama stays mostly the same
They did fix saejima a bit but still it was a drag to play him, not only that but the entire thing where he stayed in the small village for like a full chapter was very annoying and was clearly made just to drag out his story
HOLY SHIT MY BABY IS A PLAYABLE CHARACTER, when I originally saw haruka on the splash screen when you open the game she kinda has a fighting pose so I thought that she maybe learned a thing or two while watching kiryu
NOPE, I HOPE Y'ALL LIKE RYTHEM GAMES CAUSE THAT'S ALL SHE DOES!, personally im ok at them but not that good so I played only the stuff I had to do with her
[tho the twist at the end of her story about majima being park's ex husband, MAN I DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING]
And then there's shinada....
I honestly don’t know what to think about him.
He's an ok character overall but his story seems so unrelated it kinda seems to me like they just shoved him in there because they had some problem with having only 3 character that can fight. His gameplay is fine enough but sometimes it kinda felt weaker then it should be? Idk. His normal punch and grab combo is mediocre+ - ok- nothing more than that. His staff doh allowed me to cheese enemies and getting them into an infinite loop of being knocked down again and again
Another thing I can say about this game is that the character models eyes always look on the verge of tears and it seems very funny to me that at any given moment most of the cast looks like its about to cry cause im sitting here ready to do the same
8.yakuza kiwami 2 6.9/10
Man what a disappointment.
I came to this thinking its gonna be as good as 0/kiwami and my hopes were crushed
Like I said I don’t like the dragon engine that much so moving to it after the engine of the 2 previous games felt really weird
The story of this game although very heart warming at the moment youre playing it, is quickly forgotten about and basically un-canonized in the rest of the series [at the start of yakuza 3 sayama departs to America and never returns, in yakuza 6 it is mentioned that yumi is the only woman kiryu ever loved and that he never killed anyone (although ryuji goda died by his hands)]
Don’t get me wrong its still a very good game just not as good as the rest of the yakuzas
Now for the characters
Sayama- although story wise it seemed very sudden that they started dating, it was apparent from the start that something is gonna happen between them. Once again it was a sign that yakuza is one of those series that can make me sound like a kettle when I "aawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww"
Ryuji- one of if not the best villain of this series. That's because he's not actually evil but he knows there can only be one dragon so hes gonna fight for it. He actually has honor and some sense of justice. [the ending tho where sayama is crying because she finally discovered she has a brother but now he and her lover need to fight is very depressing, good thing it was all forgotten amirite? (pleasekillme)]
Now for my top 7 level up system's because this series cant ever just stick to 1
1.yakuza kiwami
It’s the only one I managed to fully complete so I might be a bit biased, but I feel like the exp/level system that is different for each fighting style is perfect. Unlike in the rest of the series where there's only the dragon fighting style that separates into body, soul, heat and tech.
2.yakuza 3
it’s very simple and doesn’t really lock out any abilities that you really need
3.yakuza 4
it locks some stuff out on the start but you can get them pretty easily
4.yakuza 5
Kinda just a worse version of 4
5.yakuza LAD
I actually like the fact every battle upgrades everything at once and I don’t really have to think about if something is better than anotherthan again you can make the case that it removes any sense of choice from the game (at least speaking in level up terms)
6.yakuza 0
Although you get like 500000 yen per basic group of enemies, I still feel that money and levels shouldn’t corelate, especially when I need hundreds of millions for some of the side-quests (*ahem* *ahem* pocket circuit *ahem* *ahem*) also, tho it makes sense canonically, I feel like the trainer system of this game specifically is kinda stupid and annoying, never really bothered with it doh considering how much beast is a powerhouse even when its only upgraded with the stuff you don’t need to unlock
7.yakuza 6 & kiwami 2
Its too separated, having all those different exp points is stupid, I always had like 2 sections that were lagging behind the rest.
I would like now to give a quick shout-out to the top 4 side-quest's in the series1.pocket circuit 10/10
I got too addicted to it both in 0 & kiwami, 95% of all my early game money was either spent/saved for pocket circuit
#pocket_circut_fighter_forever
[when I saw kiryu reminiscing on being kamurcho's fastest in kiwami's baka mitai I fucking died laughing]
2.majima everywhere 10/10
Basically doubled my playthrough's length because I always wondered what kinda whacky ass shit majima is gonna pull next. He's the best character in that game 100%
3.taxi racing 10/10
I did it all in the same game day so I like to think that in 1 night kiryu beat all the devil killers.
Shock that it reminds me of intial-d, who would've thought right? Jokes aside the car controls in this game are really fun
4.dragon kart 10/10
I would like to believe someone ran in the idea room and was like "GUYS, SO UNTIL NOW WE PLAYED PERSONA 5 100% OF THE TIME, GET THIS, WHAT IF, MARIO KART?!"and then everyone clapped
Now…
There's 1 aspect that I pretty much barely mentioned in this review and you might even be asking yourself where is it?
So without further ado
My top 15 songs from the yakuza series
Why 15? Cause that's how many songs I personally find to be fucking bops and the number of songs that I put in my playlist
(*note: don’t take it too much as if its in numerical order, I kinda tried to do it as such but that's kind of a lot of songs (the longest section in my playlist at least) and I really love all of them so it was hard to choose. Maybe try to look at it more of as a list then a top 15)
1.get over it-yakuza kiwami
It’s the only REALLY good song in this game (*note: not the only good one, the only REALLY good one)
Man that fucking guitar section in the middle, you know the one im talking about.I apologize for bringing jojo into this but I feel like if kiryu was a jojo this would easily be his theme (and that guitar section is like giorno piano)
2.destiny-yakuza 6
V I O L I Ncoming in in a VERY close second is destiny from yakuza 6I originally thought someya to be one of those bosses you just beat like 3-4 times throughout the events of the game then never hear from again and just remember him as that one asshole from that yakuza game. But MAN then this theme hits in his final fightand O O F[and right after the fight when he begs you to kill him to save kioymi, I have yet to actually cry during the events of this series but its really trying to make me do it and im 100% sure eventually I will]
3.machinegun kiss-yakuza4&5
I have a story with this song that the first couple of times that I listened to it I thought it was very mediocre, then one day I just got a vibe to listen to it 1 more time, at which point it got stuck in my head for about 3 weeks-month and it shoved its way up here.
4.judgement-yakuza 0
In case you haven’t noticed I really like buttrock
[I read a comment somewhere that said kiryu can no longer sing this after 0 because its not the same without nishiki, excuse me when I UGhhhHhHhHhhhhhhhHHhhhHHhhhHHhhHhhhhHhhhh]
5.clay doll on the cradle-yakuza 3
It has a pretty weak start but becomes really good really fast
6.comin'at ya, my girl-yakuza 5
As much as I don’t really like haruka's gameplay in 5, this is the best song in the game, sue me

24-hour cinderella-yakuza 0

Started listening to it because it’s a funny meme song
It got stuck in my head for 2 weeks
8.tears of a father-yakuza 3
When the credits hit after THAT cutscene and this song starts to play, "the father" is almost not the only one to shed tears
I only found out its called "tears of a father" while I looked it up after, and that was the point my heart had to get replaced because the previous one died
9.baka mitai-yakuza 0/kiwami/5
Do I really need to explain?
10.speed star-yakuza 4
A really pumped up default fight theme
11.intro-yakuza 0
I have a meme with some of my friends about the first 4 notes you have to hear before being able to skip it
(*TA NA, NA! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA*)
12.infinite handcuffs-yakuza 4
Another pumped up normal battle theme
13.today is a diamond-yakuza 6
*insert funny kiryu thumbs up*this song seems so happy and upbeat until you realize that according to it the singer is singing it to his lover that is in a coma[kinda fitting doh]
14.Friday night-yakuza 0
Once again, started because of a meme, continued because it’s a bop
15.[majima construction anthem]-yakuza kiwami 2
All rise for our national anthem.
One of the best things to come out of this game.
Surprisingly enough there weren't any outstanding songs in lad

AND THAT'S IT!
As a little conclusion, I would like to say I would've never imagined I would be as much in to this series as I am now, definitely one of the best game series's of all time and im really sad its not popular as it should be
Overall 10/10 series
So many good memories were formed and I can 100% see myself replaying it in the future
If you actually read all of it,
Holy shit thank you I wouldn’t be able to do that myself :)
And even if you just schemed through it and only looked at specific sections,
Thank you as well
Like I said if you wanna ask me about something I didn’t already write or wanna give your own opinion on one of my opinions youre 200% welcome to do so in the comments, ill try to answer most of the stuff i see
Well, I have nothing to add, see ya!

Hi all!
I apologize, this might be a little wordy and meandering, but I have some thoughts and some questions I wanted to run past the community. I'm not averse to mild spoilers in responses, but preferably don't spoil major story elements of the other games in the series!
Ok, so first of all, wow! I regret sleeping on this series for as long as I did. I long thought that Yakuza was basically "GTA in Japan" with some cartoonish over-the-top combat which was a little off-putting to me. When I learned that the games were heavily focused on the stories & characters and had a lot of side activities, it piqued my interest, so I finally decided to give it a shot.
I was of course pleasantly surprised to learn that Yakuza Kiwami was basically nothing like GTA and instead more in the vein of a Shen Mue game (only, IMO, better!). I very quickly took a liking to Kiryu and Nishiki in the opening chapter (ohhhh boy was I in for it) but found Majima incredibly off-putting at first (ohhhh boy was I wrong on that count too!), and by the time I was through the opening and Kiryu was returning to Kamurocho after his ten-year stint, I was completely sold on the characters and narrative and couldn't wait to see where the story was going to take me.
I absolutely adored nearly everything about this game. The characters, the plethora of substories, the impressively realized optional activities -- hell, I took the time to learn how to play Riichi Mahjong entirely because of this game (even if I still struggle to keep straight in my mind when I've got at least one proper Yaku; I also end up in Furiten too often still)! I couldn't grok Shogi though -- that one's complex enough that I'll have to learn and come back to it later.
The only element of the game that never truly clicked with me was the combat. I tend to struggle with fighting games in general anyway so no surprise there, but in particular I never got a handle on blocks/dodges/counters other than mashing the punch button to counter sometimes in Brawler style. I pretty much went through the whole game using Beast style against crowds and Brawler style against 3 or less opponents. Struggled a bit with some of the boss fights and enemies with weapons (that last battle against Jingu and his two lackeyswas particularly rough). I got enough of a basic sense of simple combos and Heat actions (even if I don't have the reflexes to his the proper button when it shows up in the middle of certain moves) to get me by and found much of the combat entertaining throughout the mid-game.
So my main question comes down to this: does the combat get more challenging as the series progresses (including Yakuza 0, which I am going to play next before moving on to 2)? If so, how much of it is dependent upon better reflexes for dodges/blocks/counters and/or those button prompts during certain moves? I'm a bit concerned that if the series ramps up much past that spoiler I noted in the prior paragraph, it might outstrip my aging twitch skills -- especially with how poor I have always been at fighting & brawler games.
I just want to continue on and in particular enjoy everything else I loved about this game. I am wholly enamored with the Yakuza series now and want to experience the rest!

For a while I’ve wanted the MC of the yakuza franchise in smash, so I thought I’d give a concept of a move set he could have if he got in to the game
In his Series: Kiryu is a ground based fighter and the Legendary Ex-Yakuza Dragon of Dojima, Former Tojo Clan 4th Chairman and Protagonist of Yakuza 1 on the PS2 all the way to Yakuza 6: the song of life on the PS4.
Requirements: he respects women so he can only fight against men like the chad he is (even though he’s slapped Haruka quite a few times)
Gimmick: Heat Gauge. When he deals damage his Heat Gauge charges, and when he takes damage/dodges, it drops, when full, press B to use a Heat Action, dealing significant damage to the enemy(s)
Neutral Attack: Rush Combo. Kiryu throws a few punches to deal standard damage to the enemy, as any other A attack would
Neutral B: Sniper Rifle. Based off of his standard attack from Yakuza: Dead Souls, he shoots his Sniper Rifle, dealing moderate damage
Up B: Uppercut. Pretty much a worse version of Ryu and Ken’s up B
Side B: Bycicle Throw. Based off of the Beast Style from Yakuza 0/Kiwami, he grabs a bike and throws it
Down B: Kick. Pretty Straight forward, he throws his leg to kick, can be charged like his Neutral B
Up Tilt: Standing Uppercut, his up B without the jump
Forward Tilt: Trash Can. He uses his beast style to lunge a trash can at the enemy
Back Tilt: Backwards Punch. He punches backwards, that’s it
Down Tilt: Tiger Drop, he throws the enemy down
Nair: Jump Punch. Self explanatory
Up Air: Uppercut, same as his Up Tilt but he’s in the air
Back Air: Air Back Punch. Same as his Back Tilt
Down Air: Landing Punch. Based off of the intro for the final boss fight in yakuza 0, he throws a punch down in the air.
Final Smash: Essence of the Dragon. Like hero’s final smash, he calls his fellow Protagonists from the series, Goro Majima, Shun Akiyama, Masayoshi Tanimura, Taiga Saejima, Ryuji Goda (villain in 2 but protag in Dead Souls), Tatsuo Shinada and Ichiban Kasuga (at random, 4 will appear like Jokers final smash) to Feel the Heat! And use a Kiwami Action, dealing extreme damage with high launch power.
Stage: Kamurocho Streets. The iconic location from the series and Kiryus home, he knows this place more than anyone else.
Costumes: P1: Kamurocho Style. his iconic outfit from Yakuza 1 all the way to Yakuza 6. P2: Dojima Family. His outfit from Chapters 1 and 2 from Yakuza 0. P3: Tachibana Real Estate. His primary outfit from Yakuza 0. P4: Taxi Driver. his primary outfit in Yakuza 5. P5: Inmate 1240. His outfit as an inmate in Yakuza 1 and Kiwami. P6: Orphanage. His P1 outfit without the Jacket. P7: Judgement Kazzy. BREAKING ZA LAWW! His outfit in the Karaoke Song Judgement Shinpan from Yakuza 0. P8: Dragon of Dojima. Kiryu loses his shirt and reveals his legendary Dragon Tatoo that gives him his legendary nickname
Music: 1: Recieve You. The theme of Kiryu. 2: Baka Mitai. The karaoke song from 0, 4, 5, and LAD. 3: 24 Hour Cinderella. Karaoke song performed by goro Majima in yakuza 0. 4: Funk Goes On. Battle theme from Yakuza 1/Kiwami 5: For Faith. The main theme from Yakuza 4
This took me so long to make ._.

I'm not sure how many of you are also subscribers to 12in12, but it's a great way to look at your backlog. I typed this up for the sub over there, but I also thought my fellow patient gamers might be interested, so here is my 12 in 12 for 2020!
This year I managed to complete 13 games (and like most of you, what I completed is a mere fraction of what I played), so I guess COVID was good for something! Here's what I finished, and how I felt about it, in no particular order:

Yakuza Kiwami (PC) - Back in 2017 or so I took a gamble on my first Yakuza game, Yakuza Zero, and I loved it so much I swore I would never miss another Yakuza title. Here we are 3 years later and I finally finished... one more of them (I guess that means I'll be playing Like a Dragon in 2040 or so). Man, these games are so good. The characters take themselves so seriously for a game this wacky. How can you not love an RPG that features a TCG wherein bikini models wrestle each other while dressed as sexy insects? The side quests are hilarious and the main quest is interesting enough that I actually remember what happens when it's over! My only complaint with Kiwami was that I felt the chapters are front-loaded with side quests. If you're diligent, you'll be done with most of them by about halfway through the main quest... which makes the last 5 or 6 chapters a terrible slog of nothing but cutscenes and boss fights. And given that most of the "boss" characters have 4-6 health bars, it just becomes tedious. Finally, there is a mechanic where Majima Goro is supposed to jump out and challenge you randomly-- I don't know if this was a bug, but he only challenged me once or twice... until I cleared all the side quests. Then, he attacked me about every 2 or 3 minutes for the rest of the game, and considering Majima is a mini-boss that I'm running into while slogging my way through nothing but bosses and cutscenes... yeah. Kinda rough ending. It didn't sour me on the series though, and I look forward to Kiwami 2 in 2021.
Flashback: The Quest for Identity (Switch) - This game is a deep and intrinsic part of my childhood gaming history, but I didn't see the end until this year: I was nine or ten when I found the Genesis cart in a "$10 and Under" bin at a pawn shop in the mid-90's. Almost my entire NES and Genesis collections were loose carts from pawn shops, bought on box-art alone, "Hello, Ironsword and Demonsword, meet your new orphan brother, Flashback." Since then, I've always been fascinated by Flashback; it was one of the first titles to use rotoscoping, it was developed by a now-defunct studio called Delphine Software, and the licensing rights have been such a confusing mess that the game has long been considered vaporware. So I was a little peeved when I saw that some indie "developer" somewhere had grabbed a ROM of Flashback, cleaned up a few of the more ugly visuals, slapped a "rewind" function into the game and put it up on the eshop for twenty dollars. That, my friends, is FUCKED. They have ZERO rights to that game, because the rights aren't available, because they don't exist anymore. Give the game away? Sure. Sell someone else's decades-old work for TWENTY DOLLARS? Get fucked. Thankfully I noticed it in a sale for like $2 at one point and had enough eshop points to get it for nothing. But on to the game: Flashback: The Quest For Identity is a genesis-era ripoff of Total Recall, and you play as space fugitive Conrad as he attempts to piece together his memories after escaping from alien kidnappers. It's a great little sci-fi romp for its time, but the real joy is in the locations the game takes you, including space stations, jungle planets, and giant dystopian future cities. The gameplay is famously unforgiving, and that little rewind function ended up helping me a LOT in the second half of the game. For a title I started about 30 years ago, it was nice to see the end credits (except the part where the end credits gave ZERO credit to the original developers).
What Remains of Edith Finch (XBox Game Pass) - This one was recommended by my girlfriend, who likes story-based games and puzzle games. Edith Finch is definitely more of the former than the latter, but it does have some entertaining puzzles. For the most part though, this game is a walking simulator that takes you through a few generations of a mentally ill family that lives in a big house on a high hill. Each family member is kinda their own, “level,” and many of them have interesting themes like “Baby in a Bathtub,” or “70’s Pulp Comic Book.” Overall I found the story to be a little melodramatic and wishy washy, but for a video game script it was “great.” You can unlock every achievement in a single playthrough, but it’s gonna take you awhile; there is no “run” function and the walking speed is stuck on molasses.
Death Stranding (Playstation4) - I waited until this game was $20, and it was absolutely worth that price. I assume if you’re on this thread, you know about Death Stranding, so you know most of the time you spend with the game is full of questions: What am I doing? Who is Fragile and why can she teleport? So I’m some kind of ghost mailman? Why is this a video game instead of a movie? How did Hideo Kojima explain this scene to Mads Mikkleson when he made him act in it? Why exactly does Kojima make video games at all? Why is Guillermo Del Toro in this game? What does the plot have to do with the gameplay? Why is the ending 2 hours long? Was that Geoff Keighley? Did they make that poor girl pronounce english phonetically because she can’t speak it? A lot of the systems like shared travel networks, delivery points, etc. actually worked extremely well in this game. But in the end it became a third-person stealth/shooter like most of the other action Kojima has made. I know a lot of people complain that Kojima’s stories are too confusing, and I understand that complaint and overall I agree, but my bigger problem isn’t that the plots are complex and obtuse; with Death Stranding, my issue is that the plot doesn’t actually connect to the gameplay in any meaningful way; yes, you are delivering the next “network node” or whatever in your deliveries, but basically you are just walking from cutscene to cutscene… the first is gameplay, the second is plot, and they don’t really overlap.
Carrion (Xbox Game Pass) - Oh, what a delight Carrion turned out to be. This was one of two games that caught my eye in the always-bizarre Devolver Digital video they did this summer for virtual E3 (the other being Fall Guys). Carrion is a simple game with a simple premise: It’s a monster movie, and you are the monster. You slide your disgusting, amorphous shape into vents and tubes and use your terrible array of teeth and tentacles to lay waste to the scientists and laboratory that spawned your gruesome form. The 2D graphics reminded me of SNES/ Genesis era games like Jurassic Park and, yes, Flashback: The Quest for Identity. With delightful references to movies like Alien and The Thing, Carrion was what more games should aspire to be: a simple concept, done well. I really hope we get a sequel!
Shadow of the Colossus (Playstation4) - Not my first time with this title. I love Shadow of The Colossus, and I’ve played each release since the original PS2 game. I feel like if I have to tell you what this game is at this point, you’re probably on the wrong sub. The PS4 remake was pretty fun, and while it looked lovely and controlled better… there is still something about those games that makes the controls infuriating. I rage-quit the final boss and didn’t pick it up until weeks later… actually I did that a few times. I’m not just talking about SoTC here though, which brings me to…
The Last Guardian (Playstation4) - I bought this game at launch, played maybe the first half of it, and got distracted by Final Fantasy XV. For whatever reason, I never went back until this year. I actually played this before Colossus, which I only played because they gave it to us for PS+. The Last Guardian is another story about a boy without a name, who is all alone in a big spooky deserted fantasy world. Except not TOTALLY alone, you’ve got a big dragon dog friend thing to help you! This game is all about your relationship with Trico, the titular dragon-dog. You guide him through puzzles and over obstacles, use him to destroy your foes (your character cannot attack on their own, so you have to rely on Trico to save you in a few tense moments), and feed him magical blue barrels that apparently make him like you more or something. Just like Colossus, the controls in Last Guardian will drive you right up the fucking wall. There are thousands of youtube videos of Trico doing LITERALLY ANYTHING except what you asked him to do. But when the game is working, it actually manages to tug on your heartstrings a bit. The end is sad like all the Team ICO games, but it’s a nice payoff. Still not sure why it was in development for like seven years though…
Horizon: Zero Dawn (Playstation4) - I’m telling you guys, the best way to play Playstation exclusives is 2 years later for $20. Picked this one up in a sale and it sat on my hard drive for a couple months before I got bored and fired this up. What can I really say that hasn’t been said? SONY makes slick, polished, AAA exclusives, and this is that. The core premise is neat, but the plot is EXACTLY what you expect it to be, and the twists and turns are as predictable as any high-budget movie or game these days. The combat can be fun, but the world is actually overpacked in terms of enemies: If you engage that Thunderjaw, you will absolutely aggro every single animal within a thousand foot radius, and when you’re done there will be 70 dead robots around you. I’ve got two beefs with this game. Beef #1 is that the objects and animals have lazy, uninspired names. Like, zero effort there. You know what you make ice arrows with? “Chillwater.” Hey, what’s that really tall thing over there with the long neck? “Tallneck.” Wow, look at that alligator snap his big maw! “Actually, that’s a Snapmaw.” Alligator is a more interesting word. Like yeah, we have animals called woodpeckers, but we came up with NAMES for animals, like bison, giraffe, ostrich. Split the difference here guys, put in a little effort. Beef #2 is a little tougher to explain, so I’m gonna try and tiptoe through this minefield here… Why do “gamers” (as in the stereotype of the greasy, basement-dwelling, no-girls-allowed neckbeards) like this game? Shouldn’t it be a laundry list of things they hate? It’s got dumb collection quests and map-tower-climbing. It’s got a cast of mostly unforgettable characters. In fact, besides Sylens I can only remember one other name, and that’s Aloy. And speaking of Aloy... she’s a strong woman who doesn’t need anyone to tell her what to do. She actively rebuffs any romantic attempts and rolls her eyes at even mundane compliments. Doesn’t Aloy perfectly encapsulate the positive feminism that is supposedly “destroying gaming culture?” Shouldn’t “gamers” have boycotted this game or demanded a reskin? Why wasn’t hashtag, “GiveUsManAloy” (or “Maloy”) trending? Is this all it takes to reverse the vile spew? Some robot dinosaurs and an “exclusive” sticker? I guess I’m just confused as to where the lines are drawn here. I thought she was a great protagonist but I just kept thinking, “shouldn’t the internet hate her?” Horizon is GORGEOUS, and I really loved a lot of the different areas of the game, and having lived in Colorado for 15 years made the world an extra special treat. It’s eye candy pretty much the entire time, but I need to give a special shoutout to Meridian and the surrounding areas. Something about the design called up images of ancient Egypt for me… so much so that I ended up buying and completing Assassin’s Creed: Origins in 2019 before doubling back to wrap up Horizon in early 2020.
Pokemon Moon (3DS) - I’ve been playing video games since around ‘88 or ‘89, but I didn’t play my first Pokemon game until 2016, when I picked up Pokemon Y on a whim. I thought it looked like a simple, casual JRPG that I could wander around collecting and slowly moving through while I did other things like laundry or binge-watching Red Dwarf. Y did exactly that, and Pokemon Moon is more of the same. It’s simple, it’s cute, it’s fun, it’s easy, and I totally get why you can just keep playing them. The monster catch/ battle/ evolve/ collect element has a real hook. I’ve started a playthrough of Omega Ruby, but haven’t finished it yet (and to be honest it’s been more than 6 months since I played). Now that I think about it, I especially loved Pokemon when traveling, and I played almost all of Y and Moon on airplanes or in airports and hotels. Maybe if we ever go back to normal, I’ll mention Omega Ruby in a future 12 in 12. Final Team: Incineroar, Raichu, Fearow, Mudsdale, Lunala, Lapras
Untitled Goose Game (Xbox Game Pass) - We all know Untitled Goose Game. I thought it was very fun, very charming, and easy to play. It’s a delightful game that will only take you a couple of sittings, and it sticks with you after you put it down. Just like Carrion, more games should aspire to this level of polished simplicity.
Resident Evil 2 Remake (PC) - I know I’m late to the party, but this game was FANTASTIC. I played it fairly early in the year, January-February, and as soon as I started it I was hooked until I finished it. I loved the… it’s not quite Metroidvania (which I have always considered to be a combination of upgrading/ unlocking abilities and backtracking to previous areas to use those abilities… Carrion does this really well), but more like… Puzzlevania? I really liked the whole gathering keys to new areas and then carrying items back and forth between them. I only played Leon’s storyline, so I might pick up Claire next month and do an anniversary replay! Fun Fact: I played the SHIT out of the original Resident Evil 2 on PS1, which I acquired in the most 90’s middle-school way ever: A kid gave it to me in exchange for a VHS of pornography taped off stolen pay-per-view.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Xbox Game Pass) - This one was really nice. Hellblade is a very emotional game about love, loss, and the people that live inside our heads. It’s told in a very compelling way, couching parables about guilt and grief within the stories of Norse mythology; very similar to themes explored in God of War (which I didn’t quite finish and will talk about next year). There isn’t much here in terms of groundbreaking gameplay; it treads the very familiar paths of puzzles, secrets, and combat. Levels are fairly linear, but you’ll have to do a bit of poking around in corners to get every single story beat and lore note. This is one of those games that really highlights the value of Game Pass: I never would have paid for this game, but I’m glad I got to play it and I’m keeping my eye on the sequel.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) -- This one is cheating, but technically I did see the credits, and I’ve been playing it every goddamn day since launch like it’s a new job. I like it! I don’t like the focus on crafting. I wish there were more things to collect for the museum, and I wish it had some of the functions the old game had (remember when you could play Excitebike in Animal Crossing?), but I keep logging in! I think the game’s longevity is tied to friends a bit… My girlfriend plays Animal Crossing with me, and so do her parents. So does my brother, and his wife, and a few other friends. You wouldn’t think that the multiplayer would hold so much attention, especially given that there’s very few ways to actually interact with other players… but I keep logging in! I guess that means it’s fun… right?

And that’s my Baker’s Dozen! Let me know if you agree or disagree!

Hello. Yakuza is a serie I never cared much until recently, knowing the game, but never tried. Seing the cover of Like a Dragon, I was interested and almost everything was on sale, so I took Yakuza 0, played a bit, enjoyed, and bought everything, except like a dragon (it can wait). Of course there will be spoilers.

Well, each time I finish a game, I feel a bit exausthed and I'm like "I should take a break, play something else a bit" but I kept coming back to an other game. Persona 5 Strikers should at least make me stop. I know those games are not for binge playing, but hey, i'm enjoying them.

I started with 0, which was fairly good. The beggining felt wayyyy too slow though, Kiryu looks a bit bland but the way Majima was introduced is great, fighting with him is fun thanks to the Slugger mode and the Breakdance. Fighting with Kiryu was less fun. I liked the progression system and the two main activities, though I didn't complete them. Thing is I never really completed any side activities, I find it a bit too tedious. The story itself is fine, and I feel Majima carries it. On the other hand, Kiryu struggling with the Dojima Clan is a bit weird and it's like they kept poking him to annoy him. I really liked the scene with Nishikiyama when he almost killed him. That really built something, that made sense in Kiwami

After that, I went fast to Kiwami 1 and that was ok. The fighting was not really fun though, I hated the dragon mode. The story stays simple and the ending is a good climax. The end is strong and powerfull. Hakura is cute. But what I loved the most was the Majima everywhere concept. That was hilarious and made the fights interresting.

Kiwami 2 was more enjoyable story wise and gameplay wise, less Majima is a bit sad, but I quite liked Ryuji as an antagonist. The relations with the Korean mafia, and that they are all related is a bit too much but hey, that's a game. The only problem I had with the story was the Castle coming out of the ground, the ninjas, fighting two tigers. I want to believe it was an hallucination. That's also when I liked Ryuji, not wanting a kid involved in that. Sayama is cute too and I wonder if I'll see her again. The cliffanger ending was stupid but luckily they explain it in the post credits so I won't complain about.
I also found the plot of bit complicated overall, with Terada.

Then I played Yakuza 3 ... and I liked it a lot. The beggining is slow, but I really enjoyed Okinawa. Made me feel like in Persona 4 with Inaba, smaller place. The orphenage is cute and kids are interesting. Rikiya was a bit boring, screaming ANIKI all the time. But he did shine at the end, and served some purpose.

Not enough Majima to my liking, and seeing Daigo grown up is nice. The gameplay was straightforward but enjoyable. Story is nothing to really talk about but not that bad. The last chapter felt long. I really liked the chart to see who was who, their relations, and seeing Sayama "refused advances from an handsome cop" made me happy, until that she went to dinner!

So yeah, I'm enjoying the serie, but what I really like is the characters who keep poping up and you feel you have known them for long, especially Hakura, Date and Majima. I hope to see more of them, and i'll play Yakuza 4 soon.

Long time listener, first time caller! It's the end of the year, and I'm pulling together my 12 in 12! This year I managed to complete 13 games (and like most of you, what I completed is a mere fraction of what I played), so I guess COVID was good for something! Here's what I finished, and how I felt about it, in no particular order:

Yakuza Kiwami (PC) - Back in 2017 or so I took a gamble on my first Yakuza game, Yakuza Zero, and I loved it so much I swore I would never miss another Yakuza title. Here we are 3 years later and I finally finished... one more of them (I guess that means I'll be playing Like a Dragon in 2040 or so). Man, these games are so good. The characters take themselves so seriously for a game this wacky. How can you not love an RPG that features a TCG wherein bikini models wrestle each other while dressed as sexy insects? The side quests are hilarious and the main quest is interesting enough that I actually remember what happens when it's over! My only complaint with Kiwami was that I felt the chapters are front-loaded with side quests. If you're diligent, you'll be done with most of them by about halfway through the main quest... which makes the last 5 or 6 chapters a terrible slog of nothing but cutscenes and boss fights. And given that most of the "boss" characters have 4-6 health bars, it just becomes tedious. Finally, there is a mechanic where Majima Goro is supposed to jump out and challenge you randomly-- I don't know if this was a bug, but he only challenged me once or twice... until I cleared all the side quests. Then, he attacked me about every 2 or 3 minutes for the rest of the game, and considering Majima is a mini-boss that I'm running into while slogging my way through nothing but bosses and cutscenes... yeah. Kinda rough ending. It didn't sour me on the series though, and I look forward to Kiwami 2 in 2021.
Flashback: The Quest for Identity (Switch) - This game is a deep and intrinsic part of my childhood gaming history, but I didn't see the end until this year: I was nine or ten when I found the Genesis cart in a "$10 and Under" bin at a pawn shop in the mid-90's. Almost my entire NES and Genesis collections were loose carts from pawn shops, bought on box-art alone, "Hello, Ironsword and Demonsword, meet your new orphan brother, Flashback." Since then, I've always been fascinated by Flashback; it was one of the first titles to use rotoscoping, it was developed by a now-defunct studio called Delphine Software, and the licensing rights have been such a confusing mess that the game has long been considered vaporware. So I was a little peeved when I saw that some indie "developer" somewhere had grabbed a ROM of Flashback, cleaned up a few of the more ugly visuals, slapped a "rewind" function into the game and put it up on the eshop for twenty dollars. That, my friends, is FUCKED. They have ZERO rights to that game, because the rights aren't available, because they don't exist anymore. Give the game away? Sure. Sell someone else's decades-old work for TWENTY DOLLARS? Get fucked. Thankfully I noticed it in a sale for like $2 at one point and had enough eshop points to get it for nothing. But on to the game: Flashback: The Quest For Identity is a genesis-era ripoff of Total Recall, and you play as space fugitive Conrad as he attempts to piece together his memories after escaping from alien kidnappers. It's a great little sci-fi romp for its time, but the real joy is in the locations the game takes you, including space stations, jungle planets, and giant dystopian future cities. The gameplay is famously unforgiving, and that little rewind function ended up helping me a LOT in the second half of the game. For a title I started about 30 years ago, it was nice to see the end credits (except the part where the end credits gave ZERO credit to the original developers).
What Remains of Edith Finch (XBox Game Pass) - This one was recommended by my girlfriend, who likes story-based games and puzzle games. Edith Finch is definitely more of the former than the latter, but it does have some entertaining puzzles. For the most part though, this game is a walking simulator that takes you through a few generations of a mentally ill family that lives in a big house on a high hill. Each family member is kinda their own, “level,” and many of them have interesting themes like “Baby in a Bathtub,” or “70’s Pulp Comic Book.” Overall I found the story to be a little melodramatic and wishy washy, but for a video game script it was “great.” You can unlock every achievement in a single playthrough, but it’s gonna take you awhile; there is no “run” function and the walking speed is stuck on molasses.
Death Stranding (Playstation4) - I waited until this game was $20, and it was absolutely worth that price. I assume if you’re on this thread, you know about Death Stranding, so you know most of the time you spend with the game is full of questions: What am I doing? Who is Fragile and why can she teleport? So I’m some kind of ghost mailman? Why is this a video game instead of a movie? How did Hideo Kojima explain this scene to Mads Mikkleson when he made him act in it? Why exactly does Kojima make video games at all? Why is Guillermo Del Toro in this game? What does the plot have to do with the gameplay? Why is the ending 2 hours long? Was that Geoff Keighley? Did they make that poor girl pronounce english phonetically because she can’t speak it? A lot of the systems like shared travel networks, delivery points, etc. actually worked extremely well in this game. But in the end it became a third-person stealth/shooter like most of the other action Kojima has made. I know a lot of people complain that Kojima’s stories are too confusing, and I understand that complaint and overall I agree, but my bigger problem isn’t that the plots are complex and obtuse; with Death Stranding, my issue is that the plot doesn’t actually connect to the gameplay in any meaningful way; yes, you are delivering the next “network node” or whatever in your deliveries, but basically you are just walking from cutscene to cutscene… the first is gameplay, the second is plot, and they don’t really overlap.
Carrion (Xbox Game Pass) - Oh, what a delight Carrion turned out to be. This was one of two games that caught my eye in the always-bizarre Devolver Digital video they did this summer for virtual E3 (the other being Fall Guys). Carrion is a simple game with a simple premise: It’s a monster movie, and you are the monster. You slide your disgusting, amorphous shape into vents and tubes and use your terrible array of teeth and tentacles to lay waste to the scientists and laboratory that spawned your gruesome form. The 2D graphics reminded me of SNES/ Genesis era games like Jurassic Park and, yes, Flashback: The Quest for Identity. With delightful references to movies like Alien and The Thing, Carrion was what more games should aspire to be: a simple concept, done well. I really hope we get a sequel!
Shadow of the Colossus (Playstation4) - Not my first time with this title. I love Shadow of The Colossus, and I’ve played each release since the original PS2 game. I feel like if I have to tell you what this game is at this point, you’re probably on the wrong sub. The PS4 remake was pretty fun, and while it looked lovely and controlled better… there is still something about those games that makes the controls infuriating. I rage-quit the final boss and didn’t pick it up until weeks later… actually I did that a few times. I’m not just talking about SoTC here though, which brings me to…
The Last Guardian (Playstation4) - I bought this game at launch, played maybe the first half of it, and got distracted by Final Fantasy XV. For whatever reason, I never went back until this year. I actually played this before Colossus, which I only played because they gave it to us for PS+. The Last Guardian is another story about a boy without a name, who is all alone in a big spooky deserted fantasy world. Except not TOTALLY alone, you’ve got a big dragon dog friend thing to help you! This game is all about your relationship with Trico, the titular dragon-dog. You guide him through puzzles and over obstacles, use him to destroy your foes (your character cannot attack on their own, so you have to rely on Trico to save you in a few tense moments), and feed him magical blue barrels that apparently make him like you more or something. Just like Colossus, the controls in Last Guardian will drive you right up the fucking wall. There are thousands of youtube videos of Trico doing LITERALLY ANYTHING except what you asked him to do. But when the game is working, it actually manages to tug on your heartstrings a bit. The end is sad like all the Team ICO games, but it’s a nice payoff. Still not sure why it was in development for like seven years though…
Horizon: Zero Dawn (Playstation4) - I’m telling you guys, the best way to play Playstation exclusives is 2 years later for $20. Picked this one up in a sale and it sat on my hard drive for a couple months before I got bored and fired this up. What can I really say that hasn’t been said? SONY makes slick, polished, AAA exclusives, and this is that. The core premise is neat, but the plot is EXACTLY what you expect it to be, and the twists and turns are as predictable as any high-budget movie or game these days. The combat can be fun, but the world is actually overpacked in terms of enemies: If you engage that Thunderjaw, you will absolutely aggro every single animal within a thousand foot radius, and when you’re done there will be 70 dead robots around you.I’ve got two beefs with this game. Beef #1 is that the objects and animals have lazy, uninspired names. Like, zero effort there. You know what you make ice arrows with? “Chillwater.” Hey, what’s that really tall thing over there with the long neck? “Tallneck.” Wow, look at that alligator snap his big maw! “Actually, that’s a Snapmaw.” Alligator is a more interesting word. Like yeah, we have animals called woodpeckers, but we came up with NAMES for animals, like bison, giraffe, ostrich. Split the difference here guys, put in a little effort. Beef #2 is a little tougher to explain, so I’m gonna try and tiptoe through this minefield here… Why do “gamers” (as in the stereotype of the greasy, basement-dwelling, no-girls-allowed neckbeards) like this game? Shouldn’t it be a laundry list of things they hate? It’s got dumb collection quests and map-tower-climbing. It’s got a cast of mostly unforgettable characters. In fact, besides Sylens I can only remember one other name, and that’s Aloy. And speaking of Aloy... she’s a strong woman who doesn’t need anyone to tell her what to do. She actively rebuffs any romantic attempts and rolls her eyes at even mundane compliments. Doesn’t Aloy perfectly encapsulate the positive feminism that is supposedly “destroying gaming culture?” Shouldn’t “gamers” have boycotted this game or demanded a reskin? Why wasn’t hashtag, “GiveUsManAloy” (or “Maloy”) trending? Is this all it takes to reverse the vile spew? Some robot dinosaurs and an “exclusive” sticker? I guess I’m just confused as to where the lines are drawn here. I thought she was a great protagonist but I just kept thinking, “shouldn’t the internet hate her?” Horizon is GORGEOUS, and I really loved a lot of the different areas of the game, and having lived in Colorado for 15 years made the world an extra special treat. It’s eye candy pretty much the entire time, but I need to give a special shoutout to Meridian and the surrounding areas. Something about the design called up images of ancient Egypt for me… so much so that I ended up buying and completing Assassin’s Creed: Origins in 2019 before doubling back to wrap up Horizon in early 2020.
Pokemon Moon (3DS) - I’ve been playing video games since around ‘88 or ‘89, but I didn’t play my first Pokemon game until 2016, when I picked up Pokemon Y on a whim. I thought it looked like a simple, casual JRPG that I could wander around collecting and slowly moving through while I did other things like laundry or binge-watching Red Dwarf. Y did exactly that, and Pokemon Moon is more of the same. It’s simple, it’s cute, it’s fun, it’s easy, and I totally get why you can just keep playing them. The monster catch/ battle/ evolve/ collect element has a real hook. I’ve started a playthrough of Omega Ruby, but haven’t finished it yet (and to be honest it’s been more than 6 months since I played). Now that I think about it, I especially loved Pokemon when traveling, and I played almost all of Y and Moon on airplanes or in airports and hotels. Maybe if we ever go back to normal, I’ll mention Omega Ruby in a future 12 in 12. Final Team: Incineroar, Raichu, Fearow, Mudsdale, Lunala, Lapras
Untitled Goose Game (Xbox Game Pass) - We all know Untitled Goose Game. I thought it was very fun, very charming, and easy to play. It’s a delightful game that will only take you a couple of sittings, and it sticks with you after you put it down. Just like Carrion, more games should aspire to this level of polished simplicity.
Resident Evil 2 Remake (PC) - I know I’m late to the party, but this game was FANTASTIC. I played it fairly early in the year, January-February, and as soon as I started it I was hooked until I finished it. I loved the… it’s not quite Metroidvania (which I have always considered to be a combination of upgrading/ unlocking abilities and backtracking to previous areas to use those abilities… Carrion does this really well), but more like… Puzzlevania? I really liked the whole gathering keys to new areas and then carrying items back and forth between them. I only played Leon’s storyline, so I might pick up Claire next month and do an anniversary replay! Fun Fact: I played the SHIT out of the original Resident Evil 2 on PS1, which I acquired in the most 90’s middle-school way ever: A kid gave it to me in exchange for a VHS of pornography taped off stolen pay-per-view.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Xbox Game Pass) - This one was really nice. Hellblade is a very emotional game about love, loss, and the people that live inside our heads. It’s told in a very compelling way, couching parables about guilt and grief within the stories of Norse mythology; very similar to themes explored in God of War (which I didn’t quite finish and will talk about next year). There isn’t much here in terms of groundbreaking gameplay; it treads the very familiar paths of puzzles, secrets, and combat. Levels are fairly linear, but you’ll have to do a bit of poking around in corners to get every single story beat and lore note. This is one of those games that really highlights the value of Game Pass: I never would have paid for this game, but I’m glad I got to play it and I’m keeping my eye on the sequel.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) -- This one is cheating, but technically I did see the credits, and I’ve been playing it every goddamn day since launch like it’s a new job. I like it! I don’t like the focus on crafting. I wish there were more things to collect for the museum, and I wish it had some of the functions the old game had (remember when you could play Excitebike in Animal Crossing?), but I keep logging in! I think the game’s longevity is tied to friends a bit… My girlfriend plays Animal Crossing with me, and so do her parents. So does my brother, and his wife, and a few other friends. You wouldn’t think that the multiplayer would hold so much attention, especially given that there’s very few ways to actually interact with other players… but I keep logging in! I guess that means it’s fun… right?

And that’s my Baker’s Dozen!

This will be a bit long, but I want to be thorough.I don't know if this has ever happened to anyone before. I played through the campaign on hard and managed to do very well up until Chapter 8. I had forgotten about Majima up until this point because I forgot he was hiding under a cone, so I didnt even have the Komaki moves yet as you need to unlock some of Majima's moves before Komaki allows you to train more (He will say he is preparing until you do). You can imagine how frustrating the fight was. I thus reverted my save to the beginning of the chapter to grind through both Komaki's and Majima's moves to what I could. I Tiger Dropped those breakdancing a**holes and continued building the Dragon Style as much as it was possible. I quickly got to SSS rank with Majima then got to the Finale and Tiger Dropped my way through Jingu. By this point, the only Majima line in the Dragon Style I was missing was the Officer Majima one (Essence of Mad Dog: Chokehold). I finished the game and began a Premium Adventure run, but I have yet to receive an email or encounter Officer Majima anywhere.
Now, here is what I know about Officer Majima:
His apparent first encounter occurs when you level up to Rank F and you get a call from Nishida, which is evident from the green waypoint like other Rank upgrade events. From here on out, the encounters with any type of Majima are randomized. However, how could I be allowed to level up to Rank SSS without having triggered the event to upgrade rank F? Did I break the game? Also, Majima begins to hide in Rank E, so this means I must have already passed the point of upgrading my skills. I have also looked for information here, here, and here, but albeit having roamed for days on end around Kamurocho I have not found him. I think I need to trigger the first meeting or else Officer Majima wont randomly appear, as in the videos I've seen Majima mentions "Time for ANOTHER random inspection" which implies these random encounters do occur after the first encounter that acts like an apparent trigger.
What can I do to unlock this last ability? I am really far into my save file trying to get 100% and I dont want to start over from scratch simply because of this apparent bug. Thanks a lot to anyone that can help me figure this out. I am on PS4 on the digital version btw.
TLDR: Finished the game, have Majima on SSS rank, never met Officer Majima so cannot complete Dragon Style. Need help to figure out why he won't show.
Edit: I have also had my weapon inventory almost full during my entire game.

I am now at the midway point for the series Yakuza 4. After finishing Yakuza 3 and then starting Yakuza 4 already there is a mass improvement on the gameplay that makes it a more enjoyable playthrough. With Kiryu taking a back seat in the character development, it brings out the other characters into perspective and has Kiryu as a mythical character. Each other playable protagonist play style is like a prelude to the style changes for Zero and Kiwami which makes the character switches give a fresh perspective on how they fight and play. Starting with Akiyama as the playable character already is a difference in personality from Kiryu as he is sharp and calculating, if this was your first game in the series it would be a good starting off point and he is easy to use and play. After a couple of chapters you play as Saejima and what the heck during the first playthrough why is it so hard to break out of prison, screw that sniper. With the help of Hamazaki, Saejima breaks out and searches for Kiryu for help with the advice from Hamazaki. Your 2nd boss battle is with Kiryu and he's parrying and tiger dropping like a mofo and I'm dying. His play style is brute strength through everything but is the slowest of all the characters but I don't mind it honestly. With him being the man out of time it shows what it could have been if Kiryu was left for dead in prison, I love his revelations cause he has no phone and uses a wood and hammer. It's kinda sad that his efforts to put his patriarch to the top is in vain and he is constantly haunted by his murder of 18 men. I know that he didn't kill them but, he still pulled the trigger and was ready for the consequences for his actions. Skipping ahead to the next character, Tanimura is the corrupt cop that will do what it takes to find why his father was murdered. Although he takes bribe money to look the other way on businesses he does it for the betterment for Little Asia and foreign estates. Being the cop of the story we rarely got to see the other side of the spectrum of the law be it through an unconventional way. He is at heart a good guy which will go to any means to uncover secrets which go against police conduct. Finding Saejima's sister Yasuko, he gets the 100 million to deliver to Katsuragi and finds how his father is murdered while investigating the hit that Saejima did. Upon the ordeal he gets setup and is about to be killed until Sugiuchi his superior arrives to help Tanimura, kinda suspicious. Later down the line Sugiuchi is later found out that he is a yakuza undercover as a cop to infiltrate and cover up the 1985 case. Tanimura's play style is the most defensive out of the fighting styles in the game. One on one he is uncontested and can end fights easily but if going against groups, it's a hard sell although can be easily get out of bad situations with his heat actions. The only gripe with the play style is that it needed good crowd control move. We at last the final protagonist Kiryu, and he is pulled back into Kamurocho by Hamazaki revealing the 10 billion incident back in Yakuza 1. Hamazaki's redemption arc is good by which he is a truly changed man by both Kiryu and Saejima although he later dies due to getting shot. Finding Yasuko in Osaka and informing him of the the situation Kiryu comes back to Kamurocho once again. Trying to meet up with Majima at millennium tower Majima is arrested and tells Kiryu the Tojo is in danger and he is the only one who can save it. Saying that Kiryu eventually meets up with Tanimura and Akiyama who are helping Yasuko and beats them up because nothing can be solved by communicating. Doing that he is called by Katsuragi to meet at the top of the millennium tower to negotiate Yasuko and Saejima for the records of the 10 billion. Kiryu reaches the top and trades the records for Yasuko and Saejima, many betrayals later Yasuko is killed but not before killing Katsuragi. With everyone's morals low, all the protagonists and rounded up together for the final battle. The final battle is a sweep with Kiryu, Saejima, and Akiyama with each boss caused by their mistakes. Tanimura's boss battle though, all I can say is why are there so many enemies, but alas Munakata is finally defeated. All in all the story is good even with the rubber bullets getting used as the plot point is a meh, the gameplay is much more polished and is a good successor to Yakuza 3. I can't wait for what comes next in the next playthrough of the series Yakuza 5

Hello! It's me! Sora. Today I would want to request Yakuza Kiwami! The sequel to Yakuza 0, it's a game I would want to get my hands on; considering I tried getting it on a giveaway, but instead, I decided to request the game, although I originally planned to get the full bundle with Yakuza 0, but instead, why not get the game from that bundle? But I'll have to be mindful about it, let's get this started, shall we?
If you don't know Yakuza Kiwami, let me give an explanation for ya, okay?
Yakuza Kiwami is an open-world, action game developed by SEGA in 2016 in Japan then later in 2017 for North America and Europe, This is rather than a new installment for Kiryu's chapter, but It is a complete remake of the Original Yakuza for the PS2, The plot itself remains the same, except they added new story elements such as Nishikiyama's soon to be corrupted journey during Kiryu's jail-time as well as Kiryu and Majima's constant fights, thanks to the Majima Everywhere feature. The fighting system has been improved after Yakuza 0, as I said about Majima Everywhere, it's kinda like Mr. Shakedown's system in Yakuza 0, but, unlike that system, Majima Everywhere not only increase the player's rank experience of the system, It also unlocks each and every Dragon of Dojima moves for Kiryu's Dragon Style.
You get to play as Kiryu Kazuma, who is now known as "Dragon of Dojima" soon takes the blame for Dojima's death, as a result, he was sent to prison for 10 years... TEN YEARS. After being a free man, he soon discovers his good childhood friend Akira Nishikiyama became a powerful corrupted Yakuza boss, Kiryu's childhood friend, Yumi went missing, the 3rd chairman Sera's death and now the ten billion yen has been stolen, with the help of Haruka, Yumi's daughter, Kazuki, and Yuya, the founders of Stardust and Makoto Date, a detective whom Kiryu met in 1988 and saved his ass from a horde of Tojo Clan members. Together, they unravel the secrets behind what truly happened and find the true villain behind everything.
Meanwhile, as you finish up the chapters, you will soon get cutscenes of Akira Nishikiyama, explaining what happened to him ever since Kiryu's prison time, each chapter shows more and more lore of how Nishiki went from becoming Kiryu's Judgement Singer, ahem I mean GOOD FRIEND! to the greatest enemy he has to face 10 years from now.
As for Majima now, we get to see him also in 1988, before Kiryu's prison time, describing him as sadistic and brutal, because he's the Mad Dog of Kamurocho, or we like to call.. The Mad Dog of Shimano! The moment Kiryu comes back to Kamurocho, Majima took notice of Kiryu's now rusty but shitty style has emerged, no longer has the greatest fighting style he had from Yakuza 0. Thanks to that, Majima will have to keep an eye out for him, thus Majima Everywhere feature became real, you get to fight him through random battles, once you get to a certain point, before leveling up the gauge of the system, you get to fight a couple of disguises from Majima except one.
The reason why I wanted to get the game entirely is that, while almost done with Kiwami 2, to say the least, I really wanted to try the first Kiwami, even though I already have gotten a brief explanation at the beginning, but nevertheless, I really wanted to try the game for myself and see what's now different from Kiwami 2.
If you were reading till the end, good job. Now about the whole bundle thing, I'm willing to let you guys decide if you want to buy the whole bundle or just buy the game I've requested. (Because I got advice from various users from my discussion page, including u/bruzk2**, I hope this should be it..)**
So if you can gift the game or not, it's all fine. I'll keep waiting patiently, no worries. And besides, you gifters decide to get the whole bundle or just the game only as I said before.
Here's my Steam ID:
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198803043306/
Here's the link to the bundle with the game there:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/13660/The_Yakuza_Bundle/
Anyway, I hope you took time in reading this, and have yourselves a Merry Christmas in a few days.
And just so you know, no matter where he fights, Kiryu NEVER EVER KILLS ANYONE! Alright?
Thank you for reading.

I started Yakuza Kiwami and I am at the start of chapter 11.
I LOVE this game, and I love fighting Majima(I am rank ss, and completed Komaki training), I'd like to buy Yakuza 0, Kiwami 2 and 6.
Do I need to grind also in these games like the Majima Everywhere system? You know, I like Majima Everywhere just because there is Majima, otherwise I would hate it so much xD

The reason for this post is to vent, so that I don't throw my controller at my fucking TV.
I recently joined the Yakuza gang and put about 57 hours into Yakuza 0. Loved it. Story, combat, side content, characters, all awesome. And then I decided to continue the story. Yakuza Kiwami is a good game. The combat is just as good as 0's with a upgrading system that I actually prefer. Majima everywhere is awesome, and the story, even though it does get off track, is very good. The side content was a huge let down though. The minigames weren't as exciting and the substories all seemed like fetch quests. Anyway, that said, good game. But wait. There's more.
Jingu. Fucking Jingu. I reached the climax of the story and am forced to fight some nobody that I'm supposed to care about with a big ass mole on his forehead. That battle was absolutely poo poo, especially since I'm playing on hard and only had two weapons to use. This was because I hadn't needed weapons at all throughout the story (it was fairly easy throughout), and had to face him like 20 times before I could beat him.
Now on to Nishiki. How tf am i supposed to beat him when I used all of my staminan royales on jing!?!? It doesn't help that I can't use the dragon style heat move to keep him from regaining health. I finally gave up on him and chose "exit game" when I died. Now I'm at the start of the chapter. Why Yakuza Kiwami. Why. I guess at least now I can go and get a bunch of weapons to fight Jingu's punk-ass with. But I don't even feel like going through all that shit again bro...
I need some encouragement boys. And girls. Yakuza Kiwami is busting my balls big time. I already purchased Kiwami 2 because of the sale on PS4, so I really hope that I can beat Kiwami. Is Kiwami 2 better than 1. Please say yes. Yakuza 0 was a masterpiece in everyway. Kiwami was pretty good for the most part until the shit show of an ending. I love these characters too much to quit, but I can't see myself pushing through this lame ass chapter again. Help me out guys

I just recentl started Yakuza about a month ago, I no-lifed the hell out of 0 and charged through Kiwami. I'm at Kiwami 2 and I just finished the chapter with Majima going on a rampage as he fought against the Omi men from Sengoku's family. All I have to say is how the hell did Majima, the man who raided and decimated the Dojima family all alone, and then wiped the floor with Awano and Lao Gui, get beaten nearly to death when fighting a smaller group of men, and men who are obviously less skilled than Awano and Lao Gui. Maybe I missed something and there were way more men he took down than just that small group that showed up, but even still, I figured it would've taken way more than just one family from Omi to hurt Majima as bad as he was

Just wanna state a few things upfront. There will be mild gameplay spoilers for Yakuza Kiwami, as well as Yakuza 0. Nothing beyond Chapter 6. No story spoilers here, so don't worry about that. And that I'll be prioritizing gameplay for this. I might do this for the story too, if I feel like doing it. And that I'm going to talk about Yakuza 0 a lot in this, considering I was going into Kiwami with 0 as a comparison of sorts. This is gonna be a long post. If you don't want a detailed summery, here's the short of it.

TL;DR: The game more then succeeds as a remake of Yakuza 1, but I personally think it fails as a sequel to Yakuza 0. With that being said, the core gameplay improves on 0's, though with some issues and annoyances that seems to only serve to give the player busywork. I highly recommend it if you enjoyed 0, but don't expect a game of higher quality then it.
With that being said, let's begin.
There's 3 ways to review this game.
Number 1: A standalone experience.
Number 2: A remake of Yakuza 1.
Number 3: A sequel to Yakuza 0 (how I think most people experienced this game).
We'll get to the negatives of the game first. I'll say right now that if you're expecting number 3, you'll most likely be disappointed. I know I was, anyway. Kamurocho in general has less stuff to do in Kiwami then in 0. Not by much, but enough to be noticeable. there's 78 substories, compared to 0's 100. Not to say that 78 is a small number, it's really not. But, you need to remember that this is a remake of Yakuza 1. Side quests included. These substories get extremely similar. There are some genuine greats here, don't get me wrong. But facts are facts. Nearly a quarter of these are some variation of Kiryu walking into some sort of scam. possibly the biggest complaint I have with Kiwami is that there's ultimately NO new content. Majima Everywhere is a fantastic mechanic, and a wonderful alternative to Mr. Shakedown... But it's still an alternative to Mr. Shakedown. While the baseball and cabaret dating game have been tweaked, it's still just that, a tweak. Mesuking is just a reskin of catfighting. You get the point. There is the photo booth in the arcade, but that's genuinely it. The content itself is great, but the fact that there's essentially nothing new about Kiwami may cause some problems for players. Not to mention that certain minigames (like disco and arcade games) have been removed. It makes sense thematically, sure. But at least add an alternative, add a new game.
Combat also has some issues. Most of these being carryovers from 0, but they're still valid. The main issue for me is that hitboxes are still off for some attacks. We've all had these moments playing these games. You plainly hit a guy, but the game doesn't register it. Or an enemy clearly misses you, but he still hits you for what's seemingly meters away. This doesn't happen often in the main story, but the coliseum is especially sinful of these moments. Speaking of the coliseum, I found it to be poorly designed. This is mostly due to the tournaments that require weapons, which legitimately are miles worse then your base moveset. Even without considering those tournaments, it always felt like I had to rely on luck to not get certain fighters (looking at you, Charon M). The most boring addition to combat is probably the Kiwami heat action. Fantastic concept on paper. Stop the boss from healing by doing a super heat move. But there's a couple problems. There's only one animation for each Kiwami heat move style. Nitpicky? Probably, but it get's boring looking at the same one. More importantly, is how much you'll be using it. Most bosses heal twice, maybe even 3 times per fight. So the amount of times you'll be using these heat moves is actually kinda hilarious. Majima Everywhere? nah, mate. Kiwami Everywhere. Certainly feels like it, anyway. Another issue I have with combat is unlocking the Dragon Style moves takes such a long time, that by the time it's genuinely viable to use, you'll only have about a quarter of the game left. Once you get the right moves, it's a blast to use, but it's little more then a waste of a style until then.
I won't go into the story much in this, but I feel like I should state some things about it while we're still in the "bad" section. Don't go into this thinking it's a sequel to 0. It's more a standalone story, with characters from 0 taking the center stage. Does that make sense? Probably not, but that's how I saw it. The general opinion is that 0 has the superior story between the two games, and I'll agree here. Even the developers probably think so, as they added new scenes, which significantly fleshes out the main antagonist more. And hey, props to them. This isn't inherently a jab against Kiwami, more a testament to how good 0's story was. I've also heard that some small things about backgrounds and scenery in the story and world was cut from Kiwami. I don't know why the developers decided to cut it, but I'm quick to forgive that. The scenes they added to the main story make losing the small details worth it. Speaking of, we're about done with the bad section of this review. Now for the portion I'm more excited about, the good of Yakuza Kiwami. We'll be here awhile.

As a remake of Yakuza 1, Kiwami is genuinely fantastic. Looks amazing, and recaptures every cutscene from the original perfectly as far as I'm concerned. Combat is naturally improved, aside from complaints I've already listed. And new side quests are added, which were all treats. With very few exceptions, I'd go so far as to consider this one of the best remakes of the last decade.
While I did critique the substories of Kiwami, and I still stand by the fact that many of them kinda suck, something happened that genuinely caught me off guard with them. Some are genuinely fantastic. I won't go too in depth with them so that you can be surprised seeing them for yourself, but I'll just say this. For all the rightful credit people give 0's substories, they're pretty low budget. Reusing animations, little to no voice lines, etc. Kiwami genuinely surprised me by having fully voiced substories, substories with pre-rendered cutscenes, and all of these substories are genuinely improved because of this added touch. On one hand, I find it strange that only a select few substories have this treatment. But on the other, what's here is great, and in some cases surpasses the substories of 0. And this goes for Kamurocho, too. Nothings inherently changed about the city, but lighting and new areas make it a genuine joy to explore again. And though there's practically no new content, the content here is still great.
And now, combat. Not much to talk about here, it's an enhanced version of 0's combat, and they did a good job with that. Rush in general has been buffed, and is actually really fun to use now. I almost never used this in 0, as I found that it wasn't fast enough to compensate for it's low damage. Not to mention that I prefer playing the "tank" role in games anyway. Kiwami fixes my main complaint of Rush. It's easily twice as fast as Brawler, and evading is so fun using this style. Conversely, I feel like Beast got nerfed. It's still fantastic, but I found it to be less valuable then it was in 0. Might be just me, though. The experience points system is LEAGUES better then the money system. You don't need to grind in order to get half of the upgrades, which is always welcome in any game. For as much as I love 0, getting those last upgrades is essentially just farming the business side mode for a long period, which isn't all that fun. The last thing I'll say about the combat; Majima Everywhere is a top contender when considering the best features in a videogame from a entertainment perspective. That's all I'll say about it, for the same reason as the substories. Experience it yourself.
And again, while I won't go in depth on the story, I will restate that Kiwami's added scenes are so effective at making the main villain more human, and turns what was otherwise a forgettable arc in the original game, into a wonderful tragedy regarding how the villain came to be, especially with context in mind. And the story itself is fantastic. Worse then 0? probably, yes. But still fantastic. That's a great way to describe this game in general, honestly. If you (for some reason) did not like Yakuza 0, the chances of you enjoying Kiwami are astronomically low. If you loved 0 (like me), you'll have a fantastic time with most of Kiwami.
I highly recommend Kiwami. It's funny, is more then competent as a beat-em-up, and has a story that'll most likely grab you by the first hour. I know it did for me. While it certainly has it's flaws, I think the pros all in all outweigh them. the asking price for the game is also incredibly cheap for what you get in return. Hope you enjoyed reading, and hey, if this helped someone with their decision with the game, that's all the better.

It's an absolute blast to play. The story is great, the minigames are fun, i love the atmosphere... etc Right now i'm only at Chapter 6-7 but i've been into it like never before. Granted, some minigames are ridiculous and made me rage a little (Arcade, JCC and mostly VS at the Disco) but it's still pretty awesome. I love Kiryu story with the Yakuza and Real Estate but i want to go back to Majima for the Makoto plot which is a little more interesting. I just love the game and wanted people to know. It's such a fun game to play i think i'll Platinum it no matter how hard it is. Also i love how good it feels to fight in this game. The impact of the punches/kicks are just incredible. I got into the series because Bakamitai was a genuinely good song and know i listen to Judgement and 24h Cinderella on loop.
Love the game and the community is fun and chill. Love you guys.
PS: Already bought Kiwami too.
Edit : I am reconsidering the platinum since i just discovered "Cat Scratch Fever".
Edit 2 : I am giving up the platinum because of Mahjong.

Like a lot of people some months ago , I discover the great song which is Baka Mitai and I can't stop appreciate how it sounds in my hears.
Just because of that , I begin to get interested by Yakuza and start the first Yakuza game on Playstation 2 but it was a bit old for me due to the graphic's look and the combat system, so after some chapter I begin Yakuza Kiwami and it was a gigant punch in my head.

The original game have a great story and great characters but Kiwami is really awesome with his Majima Everywhere, amazing fights and good substories that put a smile on my face at every time, I really love this game.
I want to thanks the guy who begin the Baka Mitai meme for turning me into a big fan of this game serie, I will look for the others game right after finishing Yakuza Kiwami

I've just got the 1000g in Yakuza Kiwami on X Box One X, after completing my legendary difficulty playthrough and finally finishing the game.
It was fun, for me the highlights were the battle through the apartment building in chapter 11, the funeral level, the fight on and next to the ship in chapter 12, and overall the story; one of the best story's I've ever played through in a game.
Things I didn't love so much would be Majima continuing to pop out everywhere even after I've maxed out my Majima everywhere rank; the frequency of random encounters; the cheapness of the AI during some battles and mini games; mahjong; the Otometal karaoke song and the car chase on legendary. Everything else was a blast, so much fun.
The world was dense, colourful and alive, the story was dramatic, emotional, logical and gripping. The Substory's were goofy, fun and a nice change of pace to the heaviness of the main story's plot.
The combat was fast, exciting and varied, Dragon style had to be my number one choice, it felt awesome mastering Tiger Drop to wreck opponents.
The achievements were fun to pursue, and although some were tough the majority of them felt achievable with enough effort; although asking me to get 250 on the Otometal karaoke song was unfair. It honestly felt like a complete brick wall to my progress, and although I did it I still feel like they should have only asked for 200.
Asking for 250 felt a little spiteful to the player, ultimately I don't suppose it matters since it wasn't enough to stop me beating the game and getting every achievement.
Overall I had a blast playing this game, good times. I can't wait to start the next one. Got the platinum for Zero, 1000g for Kiwami, and beat Yakuza 3 back on PS3. Next up is Kiwami 2, I can't wait. I love this series.
Though not quite yet, I think I'm going to need a few weeks away from Majima; not sure I'm ready to let him back into my life yet. I need a break lol.
Thanks Sega.
Happy gaming guys.

So my plan here is to go through game by game and just kind of give my general thoughts and opinions, anything more in depth y’all want to talk about I’m more that happy to continue in the comments. Needless to say, here be spoilers.
YAKUZA 0: where it all began, the prequel game taking place during the 1980’s bubble economy. Yakuza wasn’t even remotely on my radar before this, and I don’t honestly remember how it ended up in my steam library but I’m glad it did because it kicked off a grand 5 month adventure. Y0 might be my favorite in the entire series though I may be biased since it was 1sr, even though it’s nothing short of a masterpiece. I LOVED swapping between two characters, getting two different parts of a story and trying to figure out how they went together, a concept they mastered after tuning it through Y4 & Y5 (but more on that later). They really went all out making our protagonists feel different, from Kiryus lumbering heavy hitter ox stance to Majima’s manic and all over the place breaker style. The side activities were some of the best with real estate, club management, and slot car racing. I also really liked how over the top 80’s it was, in addition to the silly amounts of cash flying out of enemies with every hit. I’m eternally grateful I got into this series late and was able to play Y0 before Y1, because there are so many characters and story arcs I wouldn’t have cared about nearly as much if I hadn’t. Even characters with minimal screen time like Sera and Dojima felt so deep in YK1 because they had all that time in the prequel
Yakuza Kiwami: I have mixed feelings on YK, it was a real solid game on its own but Y0 was such a hard act to follow that it left me feeling a little unsatisfied. That’s not 100% a bad thing either, I have a feeling the game wanted you to feel that way to better empathize with its protagonist. You get out of Jail 17 years after the end of Y0 and everything is different, the world you cut your teeth in no longer exists. You wander around a different Kamurocho that’s feels colder, gone are the lighthearted side stories where you befriend quirky individuals, replaced (early game) with countless strangers trying to scam you any way they can. The woman you loved has vanished, the best friend you took on the world with turned on you, and your “family” is ripping itself apart, one faction out for your head. A couple things really annoyed me mechanically, like every boss recovering large amounts of health unless you happened to have enough heat and the correct ability unlocked to stop them. I also really disliked Majima Everywhere being linked to the dragon fighting style, I either accidentally soft locked something or my game bugged because no matter how many steps I replicated from game guides I couldn’t get Majima to appear anywhere from chapters 4-11, leaving that tree empty and useless. Outside of that it felt fairly similar to 0, albeit with a darker tone that never got better. The game started with Kiryu losing his freedom and by the end everyone who ever got close to him ended up dead.
Yakuza Kiwami 2: Literally the only complaint I have about this game is that they got rid of the multiple fighting styles that I loved so much in the first two games, but that was relatively minor because the way skills worked let you tweak they way Kiryu worked to suit your play style. I was blown away as soon as I started it up, the graphical quality and new first person camera made Kamurocho feel like a living breathing city that I wanted to get lost in. It was nice to get back to Sotenbori as well, seeing how Majimas old stomping grounds had changed since the late 80’s as well as the return of Cabaret club management, my favorite side game. Ryuji Goda is my absolute favorite villain from the series, and one I partially felt bad about defeating. He had a charisma and sense of honor that was infectious, having several opportunities to take out Kiryu but not taking them because it wouldn’t have been earned, even going as far as killing one of his lieutenants for kidnapping Haruka. This entry brought back the over the top silly side stories I really loved in Y0 as well, except for the Cursed Tape side story that scared the crap out of me haha. At the games core it was a real great story about identity and how your bloodline doesn’t define you. On the technical side playing Y6 made me appreciate how polished they got the Dragon Engine for YK2 after debuting it with the finale of the Kiryu saga. I could go on about this hand forever, and might in the comments, but we still have four more games to cover.
Yakuza 3: I feel really bad for Yakuza 3, I don’t think it was a terrible game but I didn’t much care for it. YK2 was a series high point so it’s a hard game to follow already, and Yakuza 3 didn’t exactly age well even with the PS4 HD version. The combat was sluggish and dull, with Kiryu moving like a tank, and the leveling up system was overwhelmingly bare and left little room for customization. Let’s talk plot, I don’t like how casually Sayama left for America, just leaving Kiryu after weeks early she was willing to die with him atop the unfinished Kamurocho hills as a bomb counted down. I didn’t actually mind the opening couple chapters like most people seem to, I appreciated how raising the orphans deepened Kiryus character while defining just what kind of man he is. I liked working with the smaller Yakuza family in Okinawa, Rikya being one of my favorite characters in the series. What I DIDN’T like was the goofy story, with previously unmentioned twin brothers and CIA agents...it just felt real dumb. One last thing I HATED (that lasted the next two games as well) was the claustrophobic inventory system, where you only had a few spots that were shared between weapons, armor, and recovery items. Unfortunately I can’t say too much about this one, I kind of rushed through it because it just felt like such a chore after YK2, one day I hope to go back to it and give it another chance on its own.
Yakuza 4: This game felt like a soft reboot of the series that I really appreciated after the plot of Y3 went so off the rails. Taking the focus off Kiryu the game opens up with Shun Akiyama, the loan shark with a heart of gold and legs of steel. I instantly fell in love with this character, both his fighting style and personality made me savor every minute of gameplay. His link to YK1 felt a little forced but not unbelievable, so I went with it. I really enjoyed seeing Kamurocho from several different pairs of eyes, and it made me feel closer to the city and it’s people. I got even more excited when I found myself continuing the story with Taiga Saejima, a character I found intriguing when first mentioned in Y0 and was looking forward to getting to know more. Tanimura was probably my least favorite, but I still found him likable enough to the point that I was disappointed that he was dropped for Y5 due to a scandal with his voice actor. Even though it was an improvement to Y3 it still kind of dragged In some parts and the leveling system was still fairly bare bones with the carried over cramped inventory system. Some of the story bits here made my eyes roll a little cough rubber bullets cough but nowhere near as bad as Y3. I really liked the combat here, having multiple characters reminded me of the multiple fighting styles which gave me the warm fuzzies.
Yakuza 5: A top 3 Yakuza game for me, it takes the formula of Y4 and perfects it the same way YK2 perfected Y6. All the characters we got to know in Y4 (except for Tanimura) return bigger and better than ever with two new additions in Haruka and Shinada. This gave us the best character development for Kiryu in my opinion, even if he’s pretending his name is Suzuki. You can see the toll the years have taken on him as he approaches 50, having not truly been a Yakuza since his early 20’s (aside from a brief stint as chairman) and still getting dragged into their conflicts. You can see his anger starting to come out more here too, everything that has happened starting to wear him down. As soon as Saejimas chapter started I felt like I was playing a totally different game, and I loved the snowmobile prison break and hunting in a quiet mountain town. My favorite part of this game was all the side content for each character like taxi driving, baseball, and hunting, even if I’m salty that Akiyama got shafted. The vastly different locales here were a real treat, from to snowy mountain town outside of Hokkaido to the urban sports Mecca of Nagoya. Each of the protagonists has their fighting styles fine tuned to feel real fun even if the leveling system was still meh. I had the biggest love / hate with Shinda, I loved him as a character, his story was a fun mystery, and I never loved a side activity quite as much as I loved playing baseball, I would have loved a mode where I could have played full games instead of just batting. That being said I hated his combat, every battle was a chore and the shitty minimalist inventory system held over from Y3 was a hindrance on his weapons focused fighting style. Haruka was way more fun than I anticipated, it was a nice change of pace from all the fighting and manly men doing badass manly things, not to mention how fun it was to see her grow up from the small child I found in YK1. The finale chapter of Y5 is probably my favorite, just because of how epic it all felt. From all of Saejimas fellow inmates showing up to stop Baba to Watase, Madarame, and Kitakata showing up with their troops to help Akiyama. That being said final boss was kind of dumb, being a minor character you met last minute who turned out to be the big bad just because. It was also without a doubt the hardest boss fight across all the games, having a million health bars and hitting like a damn truck.
Yakuza 6: here we are, the bitter end to a series that I fell in love with almost instantly. I was honestly a little disappointed in it, though I feel that most of my gripes could be attributed to the studio still experimenting with the Dragon engine, not quite mastering it like they had in YK2 which resulted in super floaty combat. The other aspect of combat I found annoying were a few select fights with way too many opponents because you had AI team mates, but the enemy AI laser focused on Kiryu so you could barely throw a punch without getting knocked down . My other main complaints were how much smaller Kamurocho felt, with a couple key areas blocked off it felt like a bittersweet way to say goodbye to my new digital home, semi related is how much less side content their was, and how fewer and spaced out sub stories were....seemingly partially replaced with the Troublr app. Story wise I really didn’t like how the characters we got to grow attached through the last several games were just missing in action. No Majima, Saejima, Daigo, Shinada, and (mostly) Akiyama. I get that it was the finale to Kiryus story but I feel like his closest friends should have played a bigger role. My final complaint, which is minor, is how damn hard it was to get green/ technique experience points. Through the later half of the game I had thousands of exp points in every other category but was often unable to pick up some skills because I struggled to get enough technical points. Okay, enough with the gripes and onto the good parts. I loved Kiryu more than ever in this game, watching him on the warpath to protect his family was so satisfying, and seeing him destroy countless enemies who stood in his way made me feel powerful. I loved the Hirose family the same way I loved the Okinawa yakuza in Y3, Kiryu taking this well meaning young kids under his wing made me feel like I was passing the torch to the next generation. The game did a GREAT job of making you feel like a fossil, an era of the past in a ever changing and evolving world of organized crime. The few sub stories I found were wonderful, with honorable mentions to the murderous AI with a grudge toward SIRI and a happy ending for Pocket Circuit Fighter. The overall message was a rehash of the Yakuza 2 story, about how your blood doesn’t define you but rather the destiny you take into your own hands, and I’d argue it did it better than Y2 since they added in the message that family is what you make. In the end it was a satisfying ending to Kiryus story, watching him take blow after blow to the head and keep standing made me appreciate the absolute beast I spent 7 games following.
If you made it to the end congrats! You dealt with my sloppy paragraphs ranting about this charming little series that I love despite some of its flaws. I look forward to the future of the series now that Kiryu is out of the spotlight, and I’m really hoping they bring over the Samurai spinoffs. Speaking of spinoffs, I’m off to play some Judgment! Looking forward to talking about the games in the comments with y’all!

(No spoilers please. I have only finished 0 and reached Chapter 10 of Kiwami. So the entire series is left.)
1) Is Kiryu's first name Kazuma? If so why does everybody call him Kiryu and not Kazuma?
2) Why doesn't Kazama called Kiryu Kiryu-chan or Kiryu-kun? He's his father-figure right?
3) When Kazuma meets Kiryu for the first time after 10 years why don't they hug? Is this a Yakuza tough-guy thing?
4) As far as I can recollect, Kiryu and Majima never crossed paths in 0 but at the beginning of Kiwami, Majima just knows Kiryu and it's never explained how they met or how they know each other or why Majima is so hell-bent on fighting Kiryu. Is this explained in later games?
5) Will the combat system change after Kiwami? After playing 0 and Kiwami, I think I need a change. I don't want Arkham-esque fatigue. Do Kiwami 2/Y3 RemasteLike A Dragon each have very different combat system to keep the gameplay fresh for series veterans?

Ok, so I finished Yakuza 6 today, finishing up the main Yakuza games/story which I started with Yakuza 0 early last year. I just wanted to give some thoughts on the games. I'll be fairly brief, giving more of an overview because I could do an entire post for each game. I'll be talking about them in order from favorite to least favorite (But to be clear, I played them in chronological story order, meaning Y0-K1-K2-Y3r-Y4r-Y5r-Y6)
Yakuza 0: The first Yakuza game I played, and still my favorite. An awesome story, some great characters (both main and side characters), villains/evil plot that was interesting and THE best combat system (in my opinion). It also had my favorite side games (I am addicted to the Cabaret Club game in 0, Kiwami 2 and FotNS, and I also really enjoyed Real Estate Royale). Overall, this was a great start to my Yakuza journey.
Yakuza Kiwami 2: Another great game. The engine from Y6 was improved a lot and the combat is a lot funner then it was in Y6 (in my opinion). The story is good, with compelling villains, and the callbacks to Yakuza 0 (The Majima Saga in general, Cabaret Club Grand Prix, and the appearance of makoto) are great, especially as someone who loves Y0. The Clan creator mini game is just ok (I like it better in Y0), but overall I had a great time.
Yakuza 4 (Remastered): This game is neck and neck with Kiwami 1, which has a more well done combat system, but the story puts Y4 slightly ahead of Kiwami 1 for me. It was a shock when the game added so many playable characters, and Kiryu was the last one you played, but I grew to love most of them. Akiyama was great, both story and combat wise; Saejima was clunky to play but a fun and interesting character; I think I like Tanimura more then most people but he was definitely the least fun to play, and Kiryu was awesome, because he's Kiryu. The story was pretty good, although some people's stories were better then others. It was cool seeing more of Majima's backstory (even though Y0 had told some of it). The overall story was a bit murky for me (I'm still not sure why Daigo was being a bad guy), but overall this was a very fun experience.
Yakuza Kiwami 1: The remake of the game that started it all. Playing Y0 before this really helped its story, since without Y0 I wouldn't have cared much about Nishki, or at least nowhere near as much as I did. The story is a bit weak compared to the ones above it even with things apparently added that weren't in the original version, but it had good moments and the combat was fun. Also, I'll just say it: I LOVED the Majima everywhere system. Its something I actually missed afterwards. The side game was just the old hostess stuff which was just ok, but overall I had a fun time with the game.
Yakuza 5: This game suffers from a weak overall story, but the actual gameplay is fun. I enjoyed all the side stuff, especially the taxi and Hunting mini games. The characters are all pretty good, I even enjoyed the gameplay of haruka's section. But, the story really holds this game back. Harkua's story sucks, I have never been happier to see a side character killed then I was when Park died, my only regret was it happening off screen. Also, Akiyama should have had his own chapter. The kind of overall plot was also not that interesting to me. So, overall I had fun with this game, but it definitely has stuff that holds it back.
Yakuza 6: This game has problems. The combat is the second worst in my opinion, with the new engine needing a lot more work before they should have used it. The lack of storable weapons, the wonky physics, the severe nerfing and overall lack of heat moves and enemies being annoying to take down by just normal combos (with grabbing and dropkicking being the best way to fight enemy mobs) all combine to make the game a bit of a chore to play at times. The clan creator and baseball minigames are fun, though. The story is terrible, easily the worst in the series (that I've played). All the important side characters are either in jail, hiding or in a coma for most of the game, and while some of the new characters are fine (I liked Nagumo and Kiyomi alright), you really feel the loss of the missing characters. The overall story is garbage. Parts are ok, like the mystery of who hit Haruka, but the overall plot is outright stupid, and not in a good way. The villains are the worst in the franchise, with none of them even being satisfying to defeat except maybe Hirose, and the "Secret of Onomichi" is outright asinine. The ending also leaves Kiryu's story wide open, while the game was supposed to be the end of his story. He should have either had a happy ending or died, as it is the game sets up another Kiryu game which we won't be getting. This is my least favorite Yakuza game, but I don't consider it the worst one for reasons I'll go through in the last entry.
Yakuza 3 (Remastered): This game has the worst combat system of any 3rd person action game that I've ever played. Every enemy, from bosses down to the weakest street punks, block everything. It is so infuriating that after about 4 hours I restarted the game and set it to easy (I played every other game on normal) because combat was so tedious that I wanted it to go as fast as possible. I did everything I could do to avoid random fights in this game because they just weren't fun. The story has flaws (too much time spent doing inane chores/errands for the orphans), but the overall story was ok, and I did grow to like the orphans as characters. The hostess minigame was odd in this game, but it was ok. This is not a bad game overall, none of the Yakuza games that I played were bad games in my opinion, and storywise this is better then Y6, but the combat is terrible and puts the game at the bottom of the pile for me.
So, those are my thoughts on the Yakuza franchise so far. I also played the FotNS game from the same developers and enjoyed it (I'd stick it right above Y6 if I was adding it on the list). I need to play Judgement, but I'm waiting to catch it on a good sale when I have some extra money, since it doesn't seem too connected to the rest of the franchise. I'm really excited for Yakuza: Like a Dragon, because I actually really enjoy JRPGs and the overall style of that game looks great.

So recently I got interested in the Yakuza games. After loving Y0 I bought K1 and K2 I would buy the rest but I only own a pc. I had really high expectations for K1 since the epilogue of Y0 made me really curious as to see what will happen next. Well I just beat the game and I am so disappointed.

First of all apart from the story and Majima doing wacky stuff there really isn't any reason to play this game. I have completed 59 of the 78 substories available and almost all of them have been boring fetch quests or just a brawl, they can't even be compared to the ones from Y0 who had a lot of charm and humor.

As for the gameplay it's like playing Y0 but with less content, I know this is a remake but does that mean they have to recycle everything from Y0? If so why cut content? There is a freaking club so why didn't they recycle the dance game? What really disappointed me was the karaoke, 3 songs are recycled leaving only 3 new ones 2 of which aren't even animated, just a slide show from past cutscenes, at least iji sakura is really good. But i've gotta say playing minigames with Majima and the stuff he does to fight Kiryu are hilarious, he's the one that made this game so much more fun, It's a shame he barely appears in the story. I would be able to look past every negative that I have stated until now if the story was as good as Y0, but it isn't.

\*SPOILERS FOR YAKUZA KIWAMI\*

The story is the main reason for my disappointment, every time I think about about it I dislike the game even more. Before I give my reasons I would like to ask if K2 is similar to K1 as in does it also recycle 90% of the city and minigames from Y0 because if it does I don't know if I wanna play it. Please tell me is K2 better than K1 if so then by how much? because if it isn't I'd rather make a new game plus in Y0.

So at the start of the story the first thing that bugged me was the 10 year time skip because that's a lot, people age and change in 10 years but apparently not in this game except Nishki he has a new haircut but everyone else are completely the same they haven't changed a bit, at the beginning my immersion was already shattered but I was willing to be optimistic.

The first 4 chapters are great. Kiryu slowly sees how the city has changed in his absence, It's revealed that Nishki is a changed man and Yumi is missing with 10 billion yen. Great setup, a lot of mysteries to uncover and characters to explore. Kazama gets shot Date saves Kiryu all of that was so exciting. Then we meet Haruka in a bar full of corpses and weapon in hand, unfortunately both Kiryu and Haruka completely forget about the circumstances in which they met seconds after leaving the bar. Who were those people? Why was Haruka there with a weapon? What does Haruka think of it? How does she react to it? These questions were never answered. And that's my main problem with Haruka, there is so much violence and death around her at one point she gets told that her mother, meeting her is Haruka's motivation throughout the entire plot, is dead but she fails to react. None of the things happening around her affect her in any meaningful way, you would think a 9 year old kid would be more traumatized by her mother dying or that she would at least break down crying but nope.

Then we meet the florist who gives us some info, he's cool I liked the bad-boy substory, but after that the story suddenly stops and we get 2 chapters of filler that have absolutely nothing to do with the main plot. Go help the Florist's son elope for some reason, go help Date reconnect with his daughter. The first one was a bit more understandable because in return Kiryu wanted a favor from the florist but chapter 6 was awful. Date is sleeping then his phone rings Kiryu answers and its Date's daughter saying she's mad because he stood her up, and for some reason Kiryu decides to meet her because I guess he's extremely bored. It's just written in such a lazy way, why aren't these side quests? like the one with Yuuya and his girlfriend or the boy in the hospital those had cutscenes and were perfectly fine, they fleshed out the world and some characters without intruding in the story. So why weren't these chapters sidequests if they had absolutely nothing to add to the story?

I hate how sometimes characters just have plot induced stupidity for example in chapter 6 Date asks where the office of some loan shark is to beat them up and Kiryu just doesn't go with him then waits in the host club and suddenly realizes that if Date goes alone he will probably get hurt, yeah a bit too late Kiryu but I guess we need a heroic scene of Kiryu saving someone because we don't have enough of those already.

Later Kiryu and Haruka get captured by the police but since Date is a police officer he just lets them out even though the police knew that they were accomplices and warned him previously not to do anything stupid they still didn't expect that he would break them out. They didn't even chase him.

Another thing the cutscene where Shinji and Reina are killed, which was an incredibly heartbreaking scene, in the next there is a joke about Haruka not knowing what a brothel is. And I was just so confused because seconds earlier was an incredibly emotional scene and Kiryu should be devastated but I guess not.

In chapter 12 everything is laid bare, the identity of the person who wants Haruka has control over the police and he's actually Haruka's father. Its...Its....Nish....JINGU, JINGU something, a cartoonish bad guy who appears at the very end showing everyone how evil he is. They even try to give him depth and it's so pathetic, why should I care about a guy who shows up at the very end and laughs evily saying he wants to change the country? This is the big bad guy? Someone I have never seen nor heard about up until the very end, why should I care?

But worst of all they did Nishki dirty, I thought this game was about him. He gets so many flash backs that flesh out his character so well, showing how he changed because of his inferiority complex and the increasing pressure on his shoulders. Those flashbacks are the best part of the story, and I was so hyped to see how he would interact with Kiryu and what his plan was and so on, I was ready for an emotional climax that would leave me in tears just like the ones from Y0. But he didn't do shit, he shows up once and gets punched in the face then comes back at the very end and it is revealed that he was getting played by Jingu whats-his-face, until the very end he was still getting manipulated how sad. The fight against him was really epic but I couldn't shake the feeling that there should have been more, more prior interaction between them, more emotion. After the fight they don't even have a conversation, seriously after their fight it feels like the game does its best to ignore him. Jingu shows up because Kiryu got plot retardation again and didn't tie him up earlier nor remove his weapon, then he kills Yumi and Nishki sacrifices himself to kill that piece of cardboard. After which Kiryu nor the story mention him or bemoan him, no they care more about Yumi who is another character that I really didn't care about. Sure she is important in the plot but she doesn't really have alot of screen time I feel like Nishki being Kiryu's oath brother and an important character in Y0 should have gotten him more respect and attention from the plot. They don't even mention his sacrifice afterwards, its such an insult to his character.

So yeah this game didn't live up to my expectations. I know i'm getting redundant bringing up Y0 all the time but since it was the first one I played I held K1 to the same standard, I thought I would have the fun of exploring new stores and minigames, I didn't expect to get the same game with less features and barely anything new and a shitty story to boot. That's why I am reluctant to play K2 I don't want another kick in the balls. I play games for the story and seeing how a character like Nishki who I really liked just got shat on doesn't really make me want to keep playing. Was it my fault for thinking that the story of every game in the series would be as good as Y0? Or is it just that K1 is especially bad because its technically the first of the series?

P.S: Keep in mind I just finished the story so if there is like a secret or unlockable scene bemoaning Nishki then I haven't seen it. I hope they made one but I doubt it.

Context: Finished 0, Kiwami 1,2, and 3 already, but just wanted to take some time to think about 2. I've also read a lot of opinions on this subreddit about people's thoughts on Kiwami 2, just to compare my thoughts. This is mostly story stuff, spoilers obviously.
Wow, what a game. This story was MESSY as HELL, but at the end I still loved it, and I do give it a lot of slack for being a remake of an old game. I think looking at the story as a whole, everything is a hot mess but I still loved it because every scene was so well made that I kind of forgave it.
I do think the beginning was pretty boring at first and took some time to ramp up. But towards the middle/end (probably starting with the Kazuki twin stuff), I really loved how batshit insane the twists became, unironically. Slowly putting the pieces together about the events of the Jingweon massacre was a crazy ride, and I think that it was a great idea. Even though I was disappointed that Ryuji wasn't really a part of the story until the ending, I really appreciated his battles and his honorable character. The Majima saga was really well-made for the short amount of chapters. No surprise, I loved every single scene with him, and the Zero Makoto wrap-up was imo done perfectly, literally couldn't improve it any more.
Some of my favorite scenes were: The Rain scene. Wow, I actually did not see that coming; I personally loved the song choice and the drama of it all. And the flashback with young Kiryu was a heartbreaking insight to both Kiryu's and Kazama's characters. The entire INSANE Osaka Castle section. Also, I really did like Kaoru and Kiryu's date together, it was pretty cute tbh. I'm not totally sold on their relationship like a lot of people because it was only a week technically, but the small moments with the teddy bear and being able to fight with her were pretty sweet. I was afraid in the beginning that she would be an annoying cop lady, but she grew on me.
That ending was insanity, so many absurd twists that totally didn't make sense but I didn't care because it was still super entertaining. Like, it makes absolutely NO sense for Terada to have a bomb in the first place, because Takashima didn't even know about the bomb. Was the bomb fake because Terada wanted to respect Kazama's wishes by letting Kiryu live? Then why even have a bomb in the first place? If someone has an explanation then please let me know, but I don't really expect there to be bc it's ~*yakuza*~, haha. Even though the explanation makes no sense though, I still loved those twists just because it was genuinely so unexpected and interesting. And that ending with Kiryu and Kaoru ready to die making out under a bomb was honestly badass, sad, and corny as hell. And I was totally here for it. I also laughed at Kiryu just kind of abandoning Haruka to Date and saying, "Eh I think she'll understand." And this is probably not a popular opinion, but I actually loved the Sim music that they used for the ending/other parts. I personally feel that mid-2000s punk rock captured the over-the-top drama pretty well.
Ok, look there are boatloads of flaws in the story. The Go-Ryu and the Jingweon's "raid" on Kamurocho being three tiny fights. The 31 bombs being disarmed off-screen by the Dojima family somehow? The reveal of Kaoru's dad being pretty underwhelming. Lack of character development for Ryuji, Daigo, Kaoru, and lots of other people (did anyone else expect something bigger out of the Kazuki twin stuff?). Seems like the main problem was just not enough development in general. These are huge, massive gaps in the the writing. BUT, every scene that we DID get, I loved every minute of. It was so convoluted, but entertaining.
Other than the story, I think the substories in this game were amazing and are pretty up there with Zero if not better. The combat imo was not as good as Kiwami 1 not because it was bad, but because I miss the 4 fighting styles, the heat moves were not as satisfying overall, and the ragdoll effect made punches feel kind of weak. I love cabaret being back, I love helping these damn girls. Not so hot on clan creator though, it's pretty whatever. Anyways, I'm already done with 3, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on 2 before I move on to 4. Thank you so much for reading this, and let me know what you think! If you agree or disagree, I'd love to hear from you!
TLDR; I liked the story, not because it made sense, but because I was just so entertained and still enjoyed my time with it.

Chapter 2: December 5, 2005 - Ten Years Gone - Yakuza Kiwami

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